On Saturday, February 21, 2004, Norbert Link will be presenting the sermon from Oregon, titled, “The Trial of Jesus.”
The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (which is 2:30 p.m. Central Time). Just click on “Connect to Live Stream.”
A recent article in a German magazine pointed out that five to ten percent of all people in the Western World suffer depression. In Germany alone, 12,000 people commit suicide each year because of depression, and 250,000 people are hospitalized because of depression-related suicide attempts (Online Focus, February 15, 2004).
Clinical depression is the end result of a development beginning with feelings of temporary frustration and self-pity. Rather than fighting and overcoming those feelings, affected people are often times being told by medical “experts” to concentrate on their own selves — to develop feelings to booster and inflate their “Ego” — to try to feel better about themselves and to develop a better “self-esteem,” while at the same time blaming others for their condition, including parents, friends, relatives, or just the society as a whole. THAT, however, is the surest way NOT to overcome depression.
The feeling of self-pity — the “woe-is-me” -syndrome — may even lead to suicide, if not overcome in time. Judas committed suicide when he realized what he had done. Rather than truly repenting in a godly way, rather than seeking help from GOD to continue, he did not want to live anymore — his grief for himself was just too much for him to bear (compare Matthew 27:3-5).
Paul, on the other hand, also had a lot to be sorry about. As Saul, he caused true Christians to be killed. But he repented in a godly way, and although he never forgot what he had done, he did not blame others for his deeds. Rather, he looked to God for mercy and forgiveness and began to live a new life (compare Acts 26:9-18).
We all have sinned (compare Ecclesiastes 7:20). We all have done things in our lives of which we are not proud. We all could find fault in others, blaming them for what we became and what we are today. But such conduct is not productive and healthy. We are what we are, and we all must change — and continue to change — to become better persons. To do that, we must look to God for help and to develop a love for others. Christ said that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). When we concentrate on others, and how we can help them, we are less concerned about and occupied with ourselves — what WE are, and what WE can get from others. When we are “more blessed,” then we are happier persons. Christ is telling us that it is more rewarding, more profitable, more important, more healthy and productive, to try to make others happy, than it is to try to make ourselves happy. The seeming paradox is, that if we concentrate on others and how we can help them, we WILL become happier persons ourselves. This is the godly way of how we can overcome depression. It includes forgiving others — what they might have done to us, knowing that we have done wrong things to others as well (compare Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). It includes an understanding that true love “covers all sins” (Proverbs 10:12).
God does not become depressed. He is a very happy Personage, because HE IS LOVE (1 John 4:16). And love — true godly love — is outflowing. It shares, and it is concerned about the welfare and benefit of others — how to make others happy.
If you don’t want to overcome depression and frustration, all you have to do is to blame others for your present condition. Concentrate on yourself, live with self-pity and hate for others and for society as a whole. Justify your wrongs, by pointing the finger at injustices that you might have had to endure. Blame your bad luck, your upbringing, your heritage, or maybe even God for being unfair. Dwell on the mistakes others have made and how they have hurt you.
On the other hand, if you are depressed and want to overcome depression, and if you want to become a happier person, you need to first of all admit that YOU have done wrong things — as everybody else has. Rather than concentrating on the sins of others, examine yourself (compare 2 Corinthians 13:5). Admit that you were wrong, that you did wrong, and repent of the wrong. In leaving behind what is in the past (compare Philippians 3:13), you need to begin a new life of hope and trust in God — realizing that God knows what He is doing.
You will soon find that feelings of depression and frustration will leave you. That there is hope for your future (Jeremiah 31:17). That you can love yourself, by loving others (Matthew 19:19). That an interest for others can become your new way of life, including praying for your enemies (Matthew 5:44). Realize that Christ died for you when you were still His enemy (Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:21). You will soon realize that your happiness and joy will be the result, and that feelings of frustration and hopelessness will belong to the past.
Depression originates from Satan. We are told to resist Satan, and he — with his destructive feelings — will flee from us (James 4:7). We must submit to God, and He will lift us up (James 4:7-10) — that is, He will give us comfort, consolation, happiness and hope for the future. Christ showed us how to do it. When Satan tempted Him to sin, to give up the purpose for His First Coming, Christ told him: “Away with you, Satan!” (Matthew 4:10). As a consequence, Satan had to leave, and God’s angels came to serve Christ (Matthew 4:11). Later, in the garden of Gethsemane, Christ prayed to God the Father for spiritual help, and an angel appeared to strengthen Him (Luke 22:41-44). All the time, Christ had His great purpose in mind — that He had come to give His life for OTHERS, so that OTHERS could live (compare John 10:10; 17:4; Matthew 16:21-23). God the Father and Jesus Christ loved us so much, that they were willing to bring this supreme sacrifice — for YOU and for me (John 3:16-17; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2). Christ never allowed Satan’s feelings of frustration, hopelessness and depression to find a place in His mind. Satan offered Him the kingdoms of this world, and he tried to bring Christ to the point where He would feel more important than was fitting (Compare Matthew 4:5-9). “Prove to me that YOU are the Son of God!”, Satan said, in effect. “You don’t have to go through all these trials set before you — all you need to do is to worship me, and all will be yours! Take the easy way out!”
But Christ rejected all of those feelings and temptations, which could have led to depression and frustration. Christ always upheld and maintained His love for God and man, thereby resisting the devil. He did not blame others for His situation, justifying thereby to choose “the easy way out.” He had come to die for us, because of His great love for us. He came to share His love with us, so that we could overcome depression and become happier persons — and ultimately enter the very Kingdom of God — a kingdom of unspeakable happiness and joy (Matthew 25:21; Psalm 16:11). And so, the devil had to depart from Him. We must act the same. And when we do, happy are we!
As Zenit reported on February 10, 2004, “Vatican City this week celebrate[d] its 75th anniversary as a sovereign city.” The article continued: “Wednesday [February 11, 2004] marks the anniversary of the signing of the Lateran Pacts [better: Treaties] in 1929. Signed in the Lateran Palace by Benito Mussolini, the representative of the king of Italy, and by Cardinal Pietro Gasbarri, the secretary of the state of Pope Pius XI, the pacts [treaties] were a triple agreement: a political treaty, a financial convention and a concordat.” The article also explained:
“Among other things, the Lateran Pacts [Treaties] established the sovereign Vatican City State, made Catholicism the official religion of Italy, and regulated Church-state relations… The 1929 pacts [treaties] also established the international character of the Holy See. It is the Holy See which is recognized in international law and which carries on diplomatic relations with other nations.”
This glowing description from Zenit, an official organ of the Catholic Church, is contrasted by the very critical report by Der Stern Online, of February 10. The magazine entitled its article: “The Pact with the Devil.” It explained:
“The Treaties served as a signal for Adolph Hitler, who signed four years later a Concordat with the Catholic Church.” The article pointed out that both the Catholic Church and Mussolini’s Fascist Government profited from the Treaty, and that the Catholic Church “supported the Fascist propaganda.” Applying a statement by Pope Pius XI about Mussolini, the Fascist labeled Mussolini as “the man of predestination.” The magazine quoted an expert on German Fascism, Lutz Klinkhammer, who is presently teaching in Rome. He stated: “One can say that the Lateran Treaties have ‘catholizised’ Fascism and ‘fascismized’ Catholicism.”
To become, as a Church organization, a sovereign state and to entertain diplomatic relations with other governments and nations of this world constitutes a gross misunderstanding of Biblical teaching. As true Christians, we are not to involve ourselves with the political and governmental affairs of this world. For more information, please read our Q&A in Update #76, titled, “Voting in Governmental Elections?”
Collaboration Between Germany and the Vatican
Zenit reported on February 8, 2004, that “Germany and Vatican City State plan to issue jointly a special stamp to celebrate the 20th World Youth Day, to be held in Cologne next year. A spokeswoman of the Finance Ministry in Berlin confirmed the news Thursday.”
While such an endeavor would be unthinkable under the U.S. constitution, demanding strict separation between Church and state, the German government is obviously less restricted from such collaboration with the Catholic Church, although it CLAIMS to be a secular state.
Could Many of the Jews Have Been Saved?
On February 13, 2004, Der Spiegel Online published a disturbing article discussing whether or not the Allies could have saved many of the Jews from extermination by the Nazis. The truth is that they decided not to intervene, although they knew of the mass executions. The magazine stated: “During the last months of the war the Nazis murdered thousands of Jews in Auschwitz. The British and the Americans did not intervene, although they knew about it.” The magazine pointed out that photographs were taken by the British Airforce on August 23, 1944, clearly revealing how thousands of Jewish corpses were burned under open sky.
When former Minister President of Israel, Benjamin Netanjahu, visited Auschwitz in 1988, he stated publicly: “All what needed to be done was to bomb the railways.” He echoed a demand by Jewish organizations in 1944, that had been directed to Washington and London at that time.
Evidence shows that Washington and London knew of the Nazi murders as early as August or November of 1942. The British paper, “The Guardian,” even speculated that through the failure of Washington and Britain to intervene, hundreds of thousands of lives were taken.
Der Spiegel Online took a much more differentiated view in its article. It pointed out that an attack on Auschwitz would not have been easy. Although the concept of “precision bombing” was known, it was very imprecise at that point in time. The magazine conceded that attacks on railways would have been a possibility, but “in doing so, the Allies would have risked many victims among the Jewish prisoners…. Such a scenario was not to the liking of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.” He did not want to be seen as the person killing innocent Jews while attempting to free them, according to the magazine article.
The magazine then stated that Russia could have stopped the mass murder of the Jews much easier than the Americans and the British. When the above-mentioned picture was taken on August 23, 1944, the Red Army was only 160 kilometers away from Auschwitz. Stalin COULD HAVE STOPPED the mass murder, if he had wanted to, but he did not want to, according to the magazine. Since Stalin was a full-fledged Anti-Semite, he had no interest in saving the Jews. His interests were to destroy Hitler and Fascism, in order to bring to Europe another form of totalitarianism — that of Russian Communism.
Der Spiegel Online summarized its findings with this remarkable statement: “Whether Stalin would have tried to even prevent his Western Allies from helping the Jews remains speculation. One thing seems to be certain, however: The great war of the [Russian Motherland] was never a war to help the Jews.”
Anti-Semitism Rising
From www.voanews.com, “European Union officials meet Thursday (2/19/04) in Belgium with prominent Jewish leaders at a one-day conference on fighting anti-Semitism in Europe.” This meeting comes about as growing incidents of attacks on Jewish owned property in Europe and real or perceived threats to Jews have increased. Although, as this article points out, “young Muslims have played a large role in a reported recent rise in anti-Jewish attacks in Europe,” the incidents involve a more widespread mood. Especially in France, Jewish leaders are alarmed at the steady emergence of anti-Semitism within this key nation of the European Union.
Some Jewish leaders have stated that they now are experiencing “fear” in much the same way that existed before World War II.
Conditions in the Middle East have not helped ease these emerging tensions. Biblical prophecy unambiguously reveals that real anti-Semitism will once again sweep through the coming power-bloc now arising in central Europe!
Haider vs. Bush?
Several newspapers reported on February 13, 2004, that Joerg Haider of Austria compared, indirectly, U.S. President George W. Bush with Adolph Hitler. When asked whether he would still compare Saddam Hussein with President Bush, he answered in the affirmative and added: “Hitler, too, was democratically elected.” Subsequently, however, it was reported that Haider denied having indirectly compared Bush with Hitler. He stated that he had been misinterpreted and that he had just meant to say the opposite.
Excellent Relationships Between Germany and Austria
As NEWS-Networld reported this week, the Austrian government described the relationship between Germany and Austria as “excellent.” The article pointed out that there “exist many similarities and close contacts.”
Although this does not come as a surprise, it is still important to realize that Biblical prophecy strongly suggests a very close relationship between Germany and Austria in the years to come. Such strong relationships have of course existed in the past, and from all the Biblical evidence available to us, they will exist again in the future.
Does the Bible prohibit eating a mixture of milk and meat?
It does not. However, there are some who believe and teach that certain Scriptures prohibit such a practice. They mainly turn to Exodus 23:19, which states: “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
The identical prohibition is repeated in Exodus 34:26. We also find the following prohibition in Deuteronomy 14:21:
“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
In commenting on Exodus 23:19, the Hebrew Soncino Commentary points out:
“Thou shalt not seethe a kid. In the term kid the calf and lamb are included since it denotes any young animal… The prohibition occurs three times… to signify that the eating, cooking and deriving any benefit whatever from a mixture of milk and meat are forbidden. Goats are rich in milk and it was customary among the surrounding nations to boil the young animal in its mother’s milk. The Torah considered this a gluttonous way of eating and so prohibited it. On the three festivals many animals were slaughtered; therefore the Torah took the opportunity of repeating the prohibition to express disapproval of the evil practice. The law applies not only to the meat of the kid, but to every mixture of milk and meat.”
Following this interpretation, orthodox Jews today don’t eat a mixture of milk and meat. We should realize, however, that the Scripture itself does not prohibit the consumption of meat and milk per se; it only refers to the boiling of a young goat in its MOTHER’S milk. We find, for instance, that Abraham served his three guests — the LORD and two angels — “butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ATE” (Genesis 18:8). Abraham, a man who obeyed God’s statutes, obviously did not think that there was a prohibition against eating a mixture of milk and meat, and God and His angels did not choose to “reveal” to him such a prohibition, as it did not exist.
Others have suggested that this command prohibits boiling and eating an UNWEANED kid. In this case, the Hebrew preposition would have to be translated “on” instead of “in” the mother’s milk. This interpretation is incorrect. The verbatim translation of the Hebrew is: “You shall not boil a kid in the milk of its mother.” The key is the phrase, “in the milk of ITS mother,” or, “in ITS mother’s milk,” referring to the relationship between the kid and ITS mother — not just any mother.
Some have claimed that Exodus 23:19 may refer to an incorrect practice of proper tithing. The Israelites counted animals as they went under the rod, and to remove a young goat for food would mean that incorrect tithing was taking place, that is, tithing on reduced numbers.
Most commentaries agree, however, that the command against seething or boiling a kid in its mother’s milk was given because of pagan worship practices that Israel was prohibited from adopting (Deuteronomy 12:28-32). We should note that the command in Exodus 23:19 and 34:26 is clearly given in the context of God’s annual Holy Days. The Ryrie Study Bible points out:
“Leaven was a symbol of corruption and evil (cf. Matt. 16:6). Boiling a kid in its mother’s milk was a common Canaanite ritual involving magic spells.”
The Nelson Study Bible adds, in discussing Exodus 23:19:
“You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk is a command that forbade the Israelites to imitate the cruel sacrifices of their pagan neighbors.”
Regarding Deut.14:21, the commentary includes these additional statements: “Unlike the Canaanites who boiled young goats alive in the milk of their mothers as a sacrifice to fertility gods, Israel was to practice a more humane method of animal sacrifice. Israel was to be different from its neighbors — that is, holy.”
The New Bible Commentary: Revised, agrees with that understanding and adds, in regard to Exodus 23:19: “The firstfruits are to be offered to God, for He gave them. The heathen practice referred to in 19b [i.e., verse 19, second sentence] was a vain attempt to increase fertility and productivity by magical arts.” The following comment was added regarding Deut. 14:21: “This unnatural custom was practiced superstitiously by the Canaanites, perhaps to promote fecundity.”
Matthew Henry’s Commentary points out, on page 98, that the Israelites “must not think to receive benefit by that superstitious usage of some of the Gentiles, who, it is said, at the end of their harvest, seethed a kid in the dam’s milk, and sprinkled that milk-potage, in a magical way, upon their gardens and fields, to make them more fruitful next year.”
The same is expressed, in effect, by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary on the Whole Bible, and by Peake’s Commentary.
A very insightful explanation can also be found in The Broadman Bible Commentary, vol. 1, p. 412, as follows:
“The interpretation of this rather strange prohibition against boiling a kid in its mother’s milk illustrates the manner in which archeological discovery illuminated Ancient Near Eastern cultural practices… Following the discovery and interpretation of the Ras Shamra literature, dating to approximately the fourteenth century B.C., this verse quite often has been interpreted as the prohibition of the Canaanite ritual in which a kid was boiled in its mother’s milk: ‘Over the fire seven times the sacrificers cook a kid in milk… [and] mint… in butter and over the cauldron seven times fresh water… is poured.'”
The commentary adds the following statements in vol. 2, on page 244, discussing Deut. 14:21: “The prohibition on boiling a kid in its mother’s milk has long been a riddle for the interpreter. It occurs in Exodus 23:19 and 34:26 as well. Ugaritic texts have revealed a proscribed ritual of this kind related to ‘milk magic.’ This law, like the others, prohibits Israel’s participation in rites of the heathen.”
From the foregoing, we can see that the practice of boiling a kid in its mother’s milk was associated with fertility rites, magic and pagan sacrifices, apparently associated with the belief that through magic and the intervention of demonic gods, the next harvest would be bountiful. God was clear that such pagan customs were not to be followed, pointing out, instead, how He was to be worshipped. This connection can be clearly seen in Exodus 23:18-19 and 34:25-26, where God speaks of His sacrifice (in Ex. 34:25, the sacrifice is identified as the Passover Sacrifice), the bringing of the “first of the firstfruits” into the house of God, and the command against boiling of a young goat in its mother’s milk. The connection in Deuteronomy 14:21 might not be all that obvious, as the previous verses discuss the prohibition of eating unclean meat. However, the very next verse (verse 22) begins to state God’s instructions regarding tithing principles related to God’s annual Festival of the Feast of Tabernacles.
In any event, we can safely say that the Bible does not prohibit the consumption of a mixture of milk and meat, EXCEPT that we should not boil a kid in its mother’s milk, as the Scriptures clearly say. This unusual custom is still practiced in some parts of the world today. James Hastings, Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 8, p. 635, relates the following in this context: “Among the Arabs flesh seethed in milk is still a common dish, yet the Hebrews were prohibited from boiling a kid in its mother’s milk.” Hastings also explains how milk, all by itself, played an important role in superstitious pagan sacrifices. On page 634, it is even stated: “In the Christian Church it [milk] was substituted for wine in the elements of the communion. This was afterwards prohibited by canon law…, but it may be surmised that it originated as one of the surviving rites of ancient pagan religion.”
“Boiling a young goat in its mother’s milk” was clearly, then, a pagan practice to worship pagan gods, and it was therefore prohibited by God. We should take the Scripture for what it says, rather than adding to its meaning by prohibiting the consumption of a mixture of milk and meat (except for the boiling and subsequently eating a young goat boiled in its mother’s milk).
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
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When a judge attempted to display a rudimentary version of the ten commandments in the US in the state of Alabama last year, not only was the monument ordered removed, but the judge was removed from office as well. Many decried the inability for official recognition of these biblical laws in a nation whose heritage was founded on biblical principles.
Quoting from www.washingtompost.com (2/11/04), “France’s lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to ban students from wearing Islamic head scarves and other religious apparel in public schools. The classroom ban, which also applies to Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses, was approved 494 to 36.” Continuing from this same article, ” ‘The Republic and secularism are strengthened,’ Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said, hailing ‘ the magnitude of this vote.’ “
Similar movements can be observed in Germany. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder supported the concept of banning public teachers from wearing head scarves in public school. While there may be reasons for prohibiting such practice, it is interesting to note that German President Rau voiced concerns against such a ban. When he did, the German press, attempting to create public opinion, vigorously and almost unanimously condemned him for his stance in the matter.
The argument for not establishing a state religion or allowing any religion to insinuate itself is certainly held by many. However, we see legislation now emerging in precedent setting ways that seeks to govern individual religious practices. Parental belief in healing or discipline that is based on biblical teachings has led to legal entanglements. The ability to observe the Sabbath and Holy Days based on constitutional guarantees in religious practices is under attack from legal decisions that threaten to whittle away these freedoms. The concern that children will be taught wrong concerns in public school — for instance in the areas of sex education or evolution — is brushed aside with the “legal” argument of the state’s right to enforce school attendance.
The Bible shows that there will soon arise a world-dominating religion which will enforce its will (Compare Revelation 13:11-18). At that time, the religious freedom enjoyed in many western nations will no longer exist.
What we are now witnessing are just the beginning stages of that steep slide into restrictive laws that will result in death for many who choose to obey God rather than man.
EARTHQUAKES
… in California
The Tribune, a local newspaper for San Luis Obispo County in California, reported on February 10, 2004, that the recent 6.5-magnitude San Simeon Earthquake that struck the area on December 22, had been predicted by an international team of earthquake scientists. The paper added that the prediction had been ignored, and that the earthquake did 3 Million Dollars in damage to the port’s breakwater, “seriously undermining [the rock jetty’s] structural integrity and potentially making the harbor more dangerous.”
… and in Israel
As www.haaretzdaily.com reported on February 11, a 5.0-magnitude earthquake hit Israel and some of its Middle East neighbors, but caused no injuries and only limited damage. The article continued: “… there are tens of thousands of buildings in Israel, some 80 percent of those constructed before 1990, and not protected against serious earthquakes… The region has a long record of destructive quakes. In 1927, a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale killed more than 300 people and damaged more than 1,000 buildings in Jericho, Nablus, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Tiberias, Lod and Ramle.”
The article also pointed out the following:
“Biblical prophets also foresaw destructive earthquakes, which they believed would herald a return of the Messiah. The Hebrew prophet Zechariah predicted that Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives would be cleft in two by a quake. The New Testament Book of Revelation predicts ‘a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth.’ The Koran, the Muslim holy book, also predicts destructive earthquakes in the region.”
ONLINE-BANKING DANGEROUS?
Bild warned on February 3 that “Online-Banking” has become extremely dangerous, due to a number of viruses, especially “MyDoom.A,” and “MyDoom.B.” According to the article, these viruses can lead the user to a wrong website, revealing to hackers and other criminals their individual passwords and other private information.
EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
As Deutsche Welle reported on February 9, France and Germany are determined to hammer out a European Constitution before the end of June, without contemplating to compromise their respective positions. The article continued: “The move is a further sign of deepening Franco-German ties. The two leaders [Gerhard Schroeder and Jacques Chirac] have forged a close political relationship since last year when they both opposed the Iraq war and have seen eye-to-eye on hotly-debated issues such as a post-war Iraqi order, the EU constitution and European security and defense policy.”
FISCHER VS. RUMSFELD
As News-Networld reported, Joschka Fischer and Donald Rumsfeld continued to fight over the Iraq war. Fischer said during a meeting in Munich on Saturday that the German Government’s position, opposing the war, had been verified by subsequent events. Rumsfeld responded that during their last meeting in 2003, the Iraqi people had been living in fear of a dictator. Fischer also warned of the current instability in the Middle East.
PALESTINE PART OF EU?
Der Spiegel Online reported on February 8, 2004, that German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer had suggested that countries such as Syria, Palestine, Israel and Morocco should become associated with the EU. While Israel uttered concerns, Nabil Schaath, Foreign Minister of Palestine, stated that it would be a wonderful goal for Palestine to become a member of the EU, once peace with Israel has been accomplished. He also said that Russia and the EU need to get more involved in the Middle East, since the Americans are too busy because of their internal presidential governmental elections.
JOERG HAIDER ITALIAN DOCTOR
Austria’s Joerg Haider is always good for surprises. NEWS-Networld reported that he received the title of “doctoris honaris” from a university in Milan, Italy, in economy and public communication. Haider already has a doctor-title in law.
THE GERMANS HAVE HAD IT…
Der Spiegel Online reported on February 7, 2004, about the reactions of the international press regarding Chancellor Schroeder’s resignation as party leader. The Financial Times, London, speculated that this might be a clever move by Schroeder, while Denmark’s Berlingske Tidende described Schroeder as an “unusually cynical politician,” who is “dangerous for European and Danish interests, as well as for the economy.” Die Basler Zeitung in Switzerland stated that Schroeder has changed his positions far too often, while Italy’s La Republican spoke of a “political earthquake” and a “German crises going up in flames.” France’s Le Figaro summarized: “In foreign countries, Schroeder’s reform politics are normally viewed with favor. The Germans, however, have had enough…”
BIRD FLU ON THE MARCH
The independent.co.uk reported on February 7, 2004, that “scientists are investigating a potentially serious escalation of the bird flu epidemic in the Far East after preliminary tests indicated that the virus may have jumped the species barrier into pigs.” The article also stated that “Avian flu has already crossed into humans, killing at least 18 people… Vietnam has slaughtered about 14 million chickens [according to BILD and Stern, many of those are being burned ALIVE] and Thailand about 26 million [Stern reported on February 12, 2004, that several cases of bird flu have been discovered in the United States]. Scie
ntists have shown that the three major pandemics of human influenza in the 20th century — 1918, 1958 and 1968 — were all the result of avian virus changing its structure and becoming more infectious to people.”
Der Spiegel Online added that such change could repeat itself at any time. “Experts fear that … we might see a catastrophic epidemic,” according to the magazine. BILD stated: “According to an expert, the bird flu might become thousands of times more dangerous than SARS… More than 50 million birds have been killed in 10 Asian countries… A mysterious phenomenon happened in China: On Tuesday, more than 10,000 finches fell dead from the sky. It is unclear whether there is any connection with the bird flu.”
NEW TERROR ATTACKS WITHIN THE U.S?
In January, der Stern published an interview with Gary Hart, former U.S. Senator and “one of the most influential politicians of the democrats.” The magazine pointed out that Hart, as a member of the Commission for National Security, had predicted long before September 11 a terror attack on U.S. soil by foreign terrorists. The Commission had concluded that “Americans will die on American soil, presumably in great numbers.” Hart was now quoted as saying that another terrorist attack on American soil will occur soon, stating that “it would be easy to bring chemical or biological weapons into the country.”
On Saturday, February 14, 2004, Dave Harris will be presenting the sermon, titled, “The Spirit of Unity.”
The services can be heard at www.cognetservices.org at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (which is 2:30 p.m. Central Time). Just click on “Connect to Live Stream.”
As a saying goes: A grudge is a heavy thing to carry. Unfortunately, a lot of heavy things or grudges are being carried today by so many people. This shouldn’t be!
What is a grudge? We instinctively might know, perhaps, what it is, but, put simply, it is a feeling of resentment or ill-will.
I remember that someone I used to work with in business, quite a number of years ago, used to say words to the effect: Don’t get angry, get even! For some people, that might mean harboring a grudge for many long years because they can have very long memories and cannot find it in their hearts to forgive.
If people hold grudges, let us pray for them so that they understand the error of their ways. Matthew 5:44 gives us clear instruction on this matter. There is no better teacher than the Savior, and we would do well to heed His sage words: “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
God told us the same thing in the Old Testament, in Leviticus 19:18: “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
It is not easy for humans not to have, and entertain, feelings of ill-will against those who might have offended or harmed us. While we are to hate the sin, we are to love the sinner. We were called to God’s way of life which we understand to be the narrow way — not the easy and broad way that the world wants. Just take a moment or two to think if:
1. You have ever held any grudges against anyone for any reason — whether parents, children, brothers, sisters or other family members, church members, work colleagues, friends or neighbors — in fact ANYONE; and
2. If you STILL hold a grudge or grudges against anyone — irrespective of whether that person is a church member or not.
If we are harboring any resentment or ill-will against anyone we had better think again — and this for at least two reasons: It is against the teachings of Christ, and therefore totally unacceptable, and it can lead to further problems. In other words, one problem begets another. One sin leads to another. We just can’t win if we disobey or ignore God’s clear instruction on this matter.
To hold grudges is part and parcel of the way that the world behaves and reacts. It seems that if you don’t feel resentment towards others that you are not normal — but the way that the world views things is not our yardstick. It is what God says on this matter that really counts. Let us make sure that holding or bearing grudges are not part of our Christian way of life. If it is, then we have a serious spiritual problem.
The Passover will be coming up in a few weeks. If we have a problem in this area, any traces of it should, and must be eliminated as soon as possible, so that the Passover can be observed in a worthy manner.
When a judge attempted to display a rudimentary version of the ten commandments in the US in the state of Alabama last year, not only was the monument ordered removed, but the judge was removed from office as well. Many decried the inability for official recognition of these biblical laws in a nation whose heritage was founded on biblical principles.
Quoting from www.washingtompost.com (2/11/04), “France’s lower house of parliament voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to ban students from wearing Islamic head scarves and other religious apparel in public schools. The classroom ban, which also applies to Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses, was approved 494 to 36.” Continuing from this same article, ” ‘The Republic and secularism are strengthened,’ Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said, hailing ‘ the magnitude of this vote.’ “
Similar movements can be observed in Germany. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder supported the concept of banning public teachers from wearing head scarves in public school. While there may be reasons for prohibiting such practice, it is interesting to note that German President Rau voiced concerns against such a ban. When he did, the German press, attempting to create public opinion, vigorously and almost unanimously condemned him for his stance in the matter.
The argument for not establishing a state religion or allowing any religion to insinuate itself is certainly held by many. However, we see legislation now emerging in precedent setting ways that seeks to govern individual religious practices. Parental belief in healing or discipline that is based on biblical teachings has led to legal entanglements. The ability to observe the Sabbath and Holy Days based on constitutional guarantees in religious practices is under attack from legal decisions that threaten to whittle away these freedoms. The concern that children will be taught wrong concerns in public school — for instance in the areas of sex education or evolution — is brushed aside with the “legal” argument of the state’s right to enforce school attendance.
The Bible shows that there will soon arise a world-dominating religion which will enforce its will (Compare Revelation 13:11-18). At that time, the religious freedom enjoyed in many western nations will no longer exist.
What we are now witnessing are just the beginning stages of that steep slide into restrictive laws that will result in death for many who choose to obey God rather than man.
EARTHQUAKES
… in California
The Tribune, a local newspaper for San Luis Obispo County in California, reported on February 10, 2004, that the recent 6.5-magnitude San Simeon Earthquake that struck the area on December 22, had been predicted by an international team of earthquake scientists. The paper added that the prediction had been ignored, and that the earthquake did 3 Million Dollars in damage to the port’s breakwater, “seriously undermining [the rock jetty’s] structural integrity and potentially making the harbor more dangerous.”
… and in Israel
As www.haaretzdaily.com reported on February 11, a 5.0-magnitude earthquake hit Israel and some of its Middle East neighbors, but caused no injuries and only limited damage. The article continued: “… there are tens of thousands of buildings in Israel, some 80 percent of those constructed before 1990, and not protected against serious earthquakes… The region has a long record of destructive quakes. In 1927, a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale killed more than 300 people and damaged more than 1,000 buildings in Jericho, Nablus, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Tiberias, Lod and Ramle.”
The article also pointed out the following:
“Biblical prophets also foresaw destructive earthquakes, which they believed would herald a return of the Messiah. The Hebrew prophet Zechariah predicted that Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives would be cleft in two by a quake. The New Testament Book of Revelation predicts ‘a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth.’ The Koran, the Muslim holy book, also predicts destructive earthquakes in the region.”
ONLINE-BANKING DANGEROUS?
Bild warned on February 3 that “Online-Banking” has become extremely dangerous, due to a number of viruses, especially “MyDoom.A,” and “MyDoom.B.” According to the article, these viruses can lead the user to a wrong website, revealing to hackers and other criminals their individual passwords and other private information.
EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION
As Deutsche Welle reported on February 9, France and Germany are determined to hammer out a European Constitution before the end of June, without contemplating to compromise their respective positions. The article continued: “The move is a further sign of deepening Franco-German ties. The two leaders [Gerhard Schroeder and Jacques Chirac] have forged a close political relationship since last year when they both opposed the Iraq war and have seen eye-to-eye on hotly-debated issues such as a post-war Iraqi order, the EU constitution and European security and defense policy.”
FISCHER VS. RUMSFELD
As News-Networld reported, Joschka Fischer and Donald Rumsfeld continued to fight over the Iraq war. Fischer said during a meeting in Munich on Saturday that the German Government’s position, opposing the war, had been verified by subsequent events. Rumsfeld responded that during their last meeting in 2003, the Iraqi people had been living in fear of a dictator. Fischer also warned of the current instability in the Middle East.
PALESTINE PART OF EU?
Der Spiegel Online reported on February 8, 2004, that German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer had suggested that countries such as Syria, Palestine, Israel and Morocco should become associated with the EU. While Israel uttered concerns, Nabil Schaath, Foreign Minister of Palestine, stated that it would be a wonderful goal for Palestine to become a member of the EU, once peace with Israel has been accomplished. He also said that Russia and the EU need to get more involved in the Middle East, since the Americans are too busy because of their internal presidential governmental elections.
JOERG HAIDER ITALIAN DOCTOR
Austria’s Joerg Haider is always good for surprises. NEWS-Networld reported that he received the title of “doctoris honaris” from a university in Milan, Italy, in economy and public communication. Haider already has a doctor-title in law.
THE GERMANS HAVE HAD IT…
Der Spiegel Online reported on February 7, 2004, about the reactions of the international press regarding Chancellor Schroeder’s resignation as party leader. The Financial Times, London, speculated that this might be a clever move by Schroeder, while Denmark’s Berlingske Tidende described Schroeder as an “unusually cynical politician,” who is “dangerous for European and Danish interests, as well as for the economy.” Die Basler Zeitung in Switzerland stated that Schroeder has changed his positions far too often, while Italy’s La Republican spoke of a “political earthquake” and a “German crises going up in flames.” France’s Le Figaro summarized: “In foreign countries, Schroeder’s reform politics are normally viewed with favor. The Germans, however, have had enough…”
BIRD FLU ON THE MARCH
The independent.co.uk reported on February 7, 2004, that “scientists are investigating a potentially serious escalation of the bird flu epidemic in the Far East after preliminary tests indicated that the virus may have jumped the species barrier into pigs.” The article also stated that “Avian flu has already crossed into humans, killing at least 18 people… Vietnam has slaughtered about 14 million chickens [according to BILD and Stern, many of those are being burned ALIVE] and Thailand about 26 million [Stern reported on February 12, 2004, that several cases of bird flu have been discovered in the United States]. Scie
ntists have shown that the three major pandemics of human influenza in the 20th century — 1918, 1958 and 1968 — were all the result of avian virus changing its structure and becoming more infectious to people.”
Der Spiegel Online added that such change could repeat itself at any time. “Experts fear that … we might see a catastrophic epidemic,” according to the magazine. BILD stated: “According to an expert, the bird flu might become thousands of times more dangerous than SARS… More than 50 million birds have been killed in 10 Asian countries… A mysterious phenomenon happened in China: On Tuesday, more than 10,000 finches fell dead from the sky. It is unclear whether there is any connection with the bird flu.”
NEW TERROR ATTACKS WITHIN THE U.S?
In January, der Stern published an interview with Gary Hart, former U.S. Senator and “one of the most influential politicians of the democrats.” The magazine pointed out that Hart, as a member of the Commission for National Security, had predicted long before September 11 a terror attack on U.S. soil by foreign terrorists. The Commission had concluded that “Americans will die on American soil, presumably in great numbers.” Hart was now quoted as saying that another terrorist attack on American soil will occur soon, stating that “it would be easy to bring chemical or biological weapons into the country.”
In your Update #128 you explained that Enoch did not go to heaven. You also stated that no one has gone to heaven, except Jesus Christ. What about Elijah? Does not the Bible state that Elijah "went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2 Kings 2:11)?
Christ stated unequivocally that “no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man” (John 3:13, NASB Version). This includes Elijah. However, we must realize that the Bible speaks of more than just one heaven. In our Update #97, we addressed in our Q&A the fact that there are three heavens. While the first two heavens are physical and refer to the earth’s atmosphere and the space beyond our atmosphere, the third heaven is composed of spirit. That is the heaven where God lives, and to that heaven no human being has ever ascended. In Update #97, we also addressed that Elijah did not go to the third heaven, where God’s throne is, but only to the first heaven. To quote from the Update:
“We read, in 2 Kings 2:1, 11, that Elijah was taken up ‘into heaven by a whirlwind.’ We also read that the disciples understood that Elijah did not go to the third heaven, as they were concerned that ‘the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley’ (verse 16). In fact, God transported Elijah to another place here on this earth, where Elijah continued to live until his death. He wrote a letter and had it delivered to king Jehoram, AFTER he ‘went to (the first) heaven,’ as Jehoram became king right at the time of Elijah’s disappearance (2 Kings 1:17; 3:1). 2 Chronicles 21:12-15 gives us the contents of the letter, referring to the evil deeds of king Jehoram that he had committed after Elijah had been taken away and transported through the air to another place here on earth.”
We know, then, from Scripture, that Elijah did not go to the third heaven, where God’s throne is. We also know that he was transferred, supernaturally, to another place here on earth. There are several Biblically recorded incidents where human beings were supernaturally transferred by God to another place here on earth (compare, for example, Philip’s transfer to another place here on earth, in Acts 8:39-40).
However, we also know from Scripture that Elijah died after this incident, as it is appointed to man once to die (Hebrews 9:27). We also read that God inspired Moses to write that “the days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off…” (Psalm 90:10). In rare circumstances, man can reach an age of 100 or perhaps even 110 years — however, there is no one we know of who reached the age of 150 since the time of Moses. Those who believe that Elijah is still alive today believe, however, that God kept him alive for over 2,500 years — a concept nowhere taught in Scripture.
Some say that Elijah was alive at the time of Christ; that he has returned or will return as the one who prepares the way for Christ’s Second Coming; or that he is one of the two witnesses still to appear. However, there is no Biblical evidence supporting any such claim.
Some believe that Elijah was alive at the time of Christ, as he appeared, in a glorified state, to three of the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, together with the glorified Moses and Jesus (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36). We explain this account in detail on pages 14 and 15 of our booklet, “The Gospel of the Kingdom of God.” In that booklet, we show that the whole experience was a VISION — the disciples were given a foretaste of the kingdom of God in power. They saw, in a VISION, the time when Christ, Moses and Elijah would be powerful God beings in the Kingdom of God. Elijah and Moses are not glorified yet, as Hebrews 11:39-40 explains.They will receive the promise of eternal life and glory in the kingdom of God at the time of Christ’s return — not before then.
Some believe that Elijah was alive at the time of Christ, in the person of John the Baptist. Although Christ said that John the Baptist was the Elijah to come (Matthew 17:12-13), other Scriptures explain that John had come in the spirit and the power of Elijah (Luke 1:17) — not that he was the reincarnated Elijah, or that Elijah had never died and that he appeared now as John the Baptist (Note, too, that John was BORN as a little baby to Zacharias and Elizabeth).
To quote from the Worldwide Church of God’s booklet, “Where are Enoch and Elijah?”, copyright 1957, 1973:
“Luke said that John was ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah,’ NOT that he was literally Elijah. That Elijah had died centuries before. But John the Baptist was empowered by the same spirit which had guided the Elijah of old to point Israel’s eyes to the true God, and for much the same purpose.”
Some believe that Elijah is still alive and that he will return, perhaps as one of the two witnesses, just prior to Christ’s Second Coming. They point at Malachi 4:5-6, stating that “I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” We also read that Christ said that in addition to John the Baptist, another Elijah “is coming first and will restore all things” (Matthew 17:11).
These Scriptures do not say that God would send, just prior to Christ’s Second Coming, the literal ancient Elijah. Rather, Christ announced that God would send someone “in the spirit and the power of Elijah,” to fulfill that prophecy.
We have long understood that the Elijah commission is given to the end-time Church of God. Mr. Armstrong, the late human leader of the Church of God, fulfilled his part of the Elijah commission, but the commission is ongoing and did not stop, when Mr. Armstrong died. The restoration of all things has not occurred yet, and it will not have been accomplished at the time of Christ’s return. It is Christ, as Acts 3:21 points out, who will restore all things, but it is His Church who will help Him fulfill this task, throughout the Millennium and beyond (Revelation 3:21; Romans 8:18-21). In any event, the Bible does not teach that the ancient literal Elijah will appear, prior to Christ’s return, to restore all things.
It is correct, however, that the two witnesses will apparently have similar powers as Moses and Elijah had (Revelation 11:3-6). This does not say, however, that the literal Moses and the literal Elijah will appear as the two witnesses; rather, the two witnesses will receive the same kind of POWER from God that God had given to ancient Moses (Deuteronomy 34:10-12) and Elijah. Note that it is reported in Scripture that Moses died; that God buried him; and that his grave is unknown (Deuteronomy 34:5-6). Again, Hebrews 11:39-40 teaches that Moses will be resurrected from the dead, at the time of Christ’s Second Coming — and not before then. This means that he cannot be one of the two witnesses. The same is obviously true, then, for Elijah — he, too, died, and awaits his resurrection from the dead. He is not one of the two witnesses, either.
To quote, in conclusion, from the above-mentioned booklet, “Where are Enoch and Elijah?”: “Elijah is dead in the dust of the earth awaiting the resurrection of the just. Elijah, some years after being removed in the whirlwind, went to the grave, but will rise again to live forevermore!”
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This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
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All of us suffer of trials, tribulations, and persecutions. In fact, the Bible tells us that everyone who is a true Christian and who wants to live godly in Christ Jesus WILL have trials. Sometimes, it may appear that our difficulties are more than we can possibly endure — and we might be tempted to throw in the towel. Tragically, many have done so in times past. But, when we go through trials, we should understand why there are trials. That will help us to look at them, and especially the ultimate outcome, in a much more positive light. When God allows trials to come upon us, it is for a reason. And, it is for our ultimate good.
Atlanta’s Governor, Sonny Perdue, found himself under attack by scientists for his statements that he wanted a more balanced approach to teaching evolution in school. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this week, the proposed biology curriculum will allow teachers to present other scientific theories about evolution and specifically mentions “intelligent design.”
This, however, was not to the liking of scientists that are held captive by their blind faith in evolution. The Governor was accused of “an ignorance of science,” allegedly mimicking “the arguments used by people who rebut evolution.”
His response to those wild accusations was straight-forward: “What concerns me is that many times you’ll have teachers in the classroom with impressionable students who go beyond that and teach [evolution] as a proven fact, and then go beyond that and ridicule students who would believe anything other than the theory of evolution,” Perdue said. “I think we need to have academic freedom, but we need academic balance as well.”
The article also reported about the reaction of parents:
“Many parents say they find it frustrating that public schools have ignored the challenges to evolution put forward by legitimate scientists… ‘The debate is really about the lack of supporting evidence for evolution, the censorship of dissenting scientists, religious intolerance, viewpoint discrimination, and the interjection of personal bias by science educators when instructing our children on the subject,’ Taylor [a parent] wrote.” What is astonishing is that many scientists still claim to believe in the evolution theory, although it has been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO BE WRONG! While ignoring this established fact, evolution-believing scientists become quite arrogant and aggressive when someone attempts to challenge what is tantamount to their blind faith. However, their opposition to such challenges is quite unscientific! As one journalist in Germany once stated, “The belief in evolution is the most unintelligent concept ever developed by the human mind to explain the world’s existence.”
If you want to learn more about the astonishing FACT that the evolution theory, as taught by Darwin and others, has been PROVEN WRONG by many respectable scientists, please read our free booklet, “Evolution — a Fairy Tale for Adults.”
MARS MISSIONS — DOOMED TO FAILURE?
Bild Am Sonntag published an article, dated January 11, 2004, titled, “Mars — Mission Impossible?” It pointed out that most flights to Mars with unmanned spacecrafts were unsuccessful, asking the logical question how flights with manned spacecrafts could possibly become successful. It stated: “Since 1960, 29 costly expeditions to Mars occurred, and 22 of these were failures.” It then reported about the astronomical costs for these questionable endeavors: “During the last year, Germany alone spent 865 million euros for space adventures… The race between Americans and Europeans has begun. However, the costs for this race have not even been determined… We do know that Germany has set aside 900 million euros for the project for the next five years.”
In a chart, the paper gave the following costs for recent unsuccessful Mars projects: “Mariner 8 exploded. Production Costs: 300 million dollars. — Mars Observer exploded. Damage: 1 billion dollars. — Mariner 3 became silent. Production Costs: 100 million dollars. — Climate-Orbiter ceased glowing. Damage: 350 million dollars. — Nozomi broke away. Damage: 300 million dollars. — Polar-Lander smashed. Damage: 350 million dollars. — Beagle 2 missing. Damage: 300 million dollars. — Spirit does not move. Production Costs: 820 million dollars.”
The article revealed too WHY man wants to travel to Mars. A scientist is quoted as saying: “Only there, we can get information regarding the origin of our solar system and the evolution of our planets.” Mars is supposed to tell us how earth came into existence.
If man were to accept God’s revelation in the Bible, as to how the solar systems and earth came into existence, all these costly travels to Mars could and would cease immediately.
In light of such insane spending, one can only wish that Christ will return soon to save man from his unbalanced and arrogant endeavors. While rejecting Godly revelation, man is again in the process, as he did in ancient Babylon, to build an imaginary tower to reach heaven and to replace God’s truth with “scientific” fairy tales regarding the origin of life. As God intervened in ancient times to prevent man from continuing with carrying out the idle imaginations of his own heart, God will do so again soon.
CHRISTIANITY’S FALSE TEACHINGS!
When we compare the teachings of “orthodox Christianity” with the doctrines of the Holy Bible, we discover obvious discrepancies. One such deviation from the truth of God, as revealed in Scripture, is man’s false teaching that a Christian is pleasing God when he fights in war. WorldNetDaily published on January 31, 2004, an incredible commentary by Jerry Falwell, endorsing the unbelievable concept that God is “pro-war.” Falwell wrote:
“With the Bible clear on our responsibility to live peaceably, it seems that there would be no reason to ever go to war. However, if one depends on the Bible as a guidepost for living, it is readily apparent that war is sometimes a necessary option…. President Bush declared war in Iraq to defend innocent people. This is a worthy pursuit. In fact, Proverbs 21:15 tells us: “It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”… One of the primary purposes of the church is to stop the spread of evil, even at the cost of human lives. If we do not stop the spread of evil, many innocent lives will be lost and the kingdom of God suffers.”
This erroneous and unbiblical thinking is identical with that endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church in times past, when justifying the crusades. In fact, it summarizes the very same thinking that has been used by virtually EVERY leader — civic or religious — to justify his particular war. It shows a terrible ignorance of the teachings of God Almighty. Please read our Q&A in Update #117, explaining from the Bible that God HATES war, and that a true Christian must NEVER participate in ANY of the wars of this world.
We are all familiar with the proverbial frog in the water story. When the frog jumped into the pan of water, the water was cool and refreshing and the frog felt very comfortable in the water, being an amphibian, which is able to live both in water and on land. Of course, had the water been hot when the frog jumped into it, he would have, if at all possible, removed himself from the water, immediately sensing the danger.
But, as the story goes, the frog, enjoying the comfort of the cool water, relaxed and conformed to his surroundings. As the water began to increase in heat, this particular frog didn’t notice.
Many who have been a part of the Church of God are now themselves in this proverbial pot as it gets warm and do not sense the danger that is building in their lives, especially as false doctrine continues to implode within the various churches. Additionally, modern society has continued to offer many enticing diversions, which many church members have turned to as an escape from the trials they face daily, rather than rightfully turning to God for their solutions.
God says to these people, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were either cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).
Yes, God warns of these things in His Word. But many don’t seem to associate all these things to their personal relationship with God. God warns that we are to come out of this world’s ways and to live by His True Word which is revealed in the Scriptures to those with His Spirit. We are all told to prove all things and to hold fast to that which is true. Is that your approach? Or are you like the proverbial frog? How warm is it for you?
Atlanta’s Governor, Sonny Perdue, found himself under attack by scientists for his statements that he wanted a more balanced approach to teaching evolution in school. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this week, the proposed biology curriculum will allow teachers to present other scientific theories about evolution and specifically mentions “intelligent design.”
This, however, was not to the liking of scientists that are held captive by their blind faith in evolution. The Governor was accused of “an ignorance of science,” allegedly mimicking “the arguments used by people who rebut evolution.”
His response to those wild accusations was straight-forward: “What concerns me is that many times you’ll have teachers in the classroom with impressionable students who go beyond that and teach [evolution] as a proven fact, and then go beyond that and ridicule students who would believe anything other than the theory of evolution,” Perdue said. “I think we need to have academic freedom, but we need academic balance as well.”
The article also reported about the reaction of parents:
“Many parents say they find it frustrating that public schools have ignored the challenges to evolution put forward by legitimate scientists… ‘The debate is really about the lack of supporting evidence for evolution, the censorship of dissenting scientists, religious intolerance, viewpoint discrimination, and the interjection of personal bias by science educators when instructing our children on the subject,’ Taylor [a parent] wrote.” What is astonishing is that many scientists still claim to believe in the evolution theory, although it has been SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO BE WRONG! While ignoring this established fact, evolution-believing scientists become quite arrogant and aggressive when someone attempts to challenge what is tantamount to their blind faith. However, their opposition to such challenges is quite unscientific! As one journalist in Germany once stated, “The belief in evolution is the most unintelligent concept ever developed by the human mind to explain the world’s existence.”
If you want to learn more about the astonishing FACT that the evolution theory, as taught by Darwin and others, has been PROVEN WRONG by many respectable scientists, please read our free booklet, “Evolution — a Fairy Tale for Adults.”
MARS MISSIONS — DOOMED TO FAILURE?
Bild Am Sonntag published an article, dated January 11, 2004, titled, “Mars — Mission Impossible?” It pointed out that most flights to Mars with unmanned spacecrafts were unsuccessful, asking the logical question how flights with manned spacecrafts could possibly become successful. It stated: “Since 1960, 29 costly expeditions to Mars occurred, and 22 of these were failures.” It then reported about the astronomical costs for these questionable endeavors: “During the last year, Germany alone spent 865 million euros for space adventures… The race between Americans and Europeans has begun. However, the costs for this race have not even been determined… We do know that Germany has set aside 900 million euros for the project for the next five years.”
In a chart, the paper gave the following costs for recent unsuccessful Mars projects: “Mariner 8 exploded. Production Costs: 300 million dollars. — Mars Observer exploded. Damage: 1 billion dollars. — Mariner 3 became silent. Production Costs: 100 million dollars. — Climate-Orbiter ceased glowing. Damage: 350 million dollars. — Nozomi broke away. Damage: 300 million dollars. — Polar-Lander smashed. Damage: 350 million dollars. — Beagle 2 missing. Damage: 300 million dollars. — Spirit does not move. Production Costs: 820 million dollars.”
The article revealed too WHY man wants to travel to Mars. A scientist is quoted as saying: “Only there, we can get information regarding the origin of our solar system and the evolution of our planets.” Mars is supposed to tell us how earth came into existence.
If man were to accept God’s revelation in the Bible, as to how the solar systems and earth came into existence, all these costly travels to Mars could and would cease immediately.
In light of such insane spending, one can only wish that Christ will return soon to save man from his unbalanced and arrogant endeavors. While rejecting Godly revelation, man is again in the process, as he did in ancient Babylon, to build an imaginary tower to reach heaven and to replace God’s truth with “scientific” fairy tales regarding the origin of life. As God intervened in ancient times to prevent man from continuing with carrying out the idle imaginations of his own heart, God will do so again soon.
CHRISTIANITY’S FALSE TEACHINGS!
When we compare the teachings of “orthodox Christianity” with the doctrines of the Holy Bible, we discover obvious discrepancies. One such deviation from the truth of God, as revealed in Scripture, is man’s false teaching that a Christian is pleasing God when he fights in war. WorldNetDaily published on January 31, 2004, an incredible commentary by Jerry Falwell, endorsing the unbelievable concept that God is “pro-war.” Falwell wrote:
“With the Bible clear on our responsibility to live peaceably, it seems that there would be no reason to ever go to war. However, if one depends on the Bible as a guidepost for living, it is readily apparent that war is sometimes a necessary option…. President Bush declared war in Iraq to defend innocent people. This is a worthy pursuit. In fact, Proverbs 21:15 tells us: “It is joy to the just to do judgment: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.”… One of the primary purposes of the church is to stop the spread of evil, even at the cost of human lives. If we do not stop the spread of evil, many innocent lives will be lost and the kingdom of God suffers.”
This erroneous and unbiblical thinking is identical with that endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church in times past, when justifying the crusades. In fact, it summarizes the very same thinking that has been used by virtually EVERY leader — civic or religious — to justify his particular war. It shows a terrible ignorance of the teachings of God Almighty. Please read our Q&A in Update #117, explaining from the Bible that God HATES war, and that a true Christian must NEVER participate in ANY of the wars of this world.
What is Satan's Fate? Will he live forever, or will he cease to exist?
Much has been speculated as to the nature of Satan’s ultimate fate. From all the available Scriptures, we can safely say that Satan will not repent, nor will he cease to exist.
“The angels who sinned are presently in chains of darkness, to be reserved for future judgment (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). They are living today in a state of darkness. They are spiritually imprisoned by their own perversions. Sin has enslaved them. Before God frees us from sin, we, too, are slaves of sin. The same is true for Satan and his demons. They are not literally imprisoned and jailed at a certain place. Rather, they are roaming to and fro on this earth. Satan is compared to a roaring lion, walking about, to see whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8).
“Demons are waiting for their judgment. Demons asked Christ whether He had come to ‘torment’ them ‘before the time’ (Matthew 8:29). Luke 8:31 adds that they begged Christ not to command them ‘to go out into the abyss.’ At this point in time, they are not yet in that ‘abyss.’ Satan is not in it either; rather, he will be placed in it at the beginning of the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3, 7 — the word ‘abyss’ is translated there as ‘bottomless pit.’).
“What is the ‘abyss’? The word is used in Romans 10:7, where we read, ‘Who will descend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).’
“In Romans 10, the ‘abyss’ is used as an analogy in association with the dead who are buried. It is also used as an analogy in Luke 8 and in Revelation 20. When Satan and his demons will be placed in the ‘abyss’ at the beginning of the Millennium, they will be as good as dead — unable to influence and deceive the nations any longer during that time period (compare Revelation 20:3). The fact that they won’t be able to destroy others will give them spiritual torment — that is why they asked Christ whether He had come to torment them before ‘the time.’
“Satan’s spiritual torment, and that of his angels, will continue. After a time period called the Great White Throne Judgment, Satan and his demons will be cast into the lake of fire, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:41). Their torment will be spiritual, as they will see all of their evil works destroyed by fire (compare 2 Peter 3:10-13), and their influence on others will be gone forever. Their final fate might be revealed in Jude 13, referring to ‘wandering stars for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.’ Compare too, 2 Peter 2:17.
“God knows what is in store for them, and so do they.”
In addition to this quote from our booklet, please note the following excerpts from an old letter of the Worldwide Church of God, setting forth the long-held understanding of the Church on this subject:
“Satan and his demons are spirit beings, created with inherent immortality (see Luke 20:36). They cannot die. Paul wrote that Jesus Christ would ‘destroy’ the devil through His sacrifice (Heb. 2:14). Paul, however, was not saying that Christ will kill Satan or completely blot him out of existence. According to Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, the word ‘destroy’ can also mean ‘neutralize’ or ‘make subject to a crushing defeat.’ The original Greek word, ‘katargeo,’ translated as ‘destroy’ in this verse, means ‘to render inactive’ or idle.’ Notice 1 John 3:8: ‘For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the WORKS of the devil.’…
“The Bible gives us only a clue as to the nature of Satan’s punishment [after the Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgment]. Jude describes some as being ‘wandering stars [stars are symbols of angels], to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever’ (verse 13). Apparently, God will banish Satan and his demons from the universe. They will never again associate with or influence the glorified inhabitants of God’s realm.”
Some claim that Satan and his demons will have to die, since they sinned, and — so the argument goes — Romans 6:23 and Ezekiel 18:4 teach that the wages of sin is death, and that the soul that sins shall die. However, these and similar Scriptures apply to human beings — not to Satan and his angels. When man sinned, he incurred the death penalty. Christ died for man so that man does not have to die eternally. Romans 6:23 teaches that the wages of sin is death (for man), but that the gift of God is eternal life (for man). That is, when man repents and accepts Christ’s sacrifice, he can be spared from death. This cannot refer to spirit beings, as they ALREADY have eternal life. The wages for their sin cannot be death, and God’s gift to them, if they were to repent, would not be eternal life (since they already have it). When the Bible says that there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood (compare Hebrews 9:22), then this applies strictly to human beings, who have and who are flesh and blood.
There are several Biblical indications and hints as to what the penalty for Satan and his demons will be (compare, for example, 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 13). In the final analysis, however, we are not expressly told the specific final destination and fate of Satan and his unrepentant demons — except as to say that God has decreed that they, as spirit beings, will not die.
Some, who understand that Satan and his demons are spirit beings that cannot die, claim that God will change Satan into a man, and that He will kill Satan, once he is flesh and blood. We must understand, however, that this speculation is nowhere taught in Scripture. We read that only Jesus Christ, a Spirit being, gave up His divinity and became a human being, through the power of the Holy Spirit of God the Father. We read that Christ became the “ONLY-begotten” (John 1:14) — He was and will always be the only being who was Spirit and became flesh. (Please read, for an in-depth study of this question, our free booklet, “Are You Already Born Again?“) Nowhere does the Bible suggest that other spirit beings could or will become flesh in the future.
Some point at a passage in Ezekiel 28:18-19, claiming that Satan will be devoured by fire and turn to ashes. However, the context shows that God is not talking about Satan in that passage. Ezekiel 28 is first talking about a man — the “prince of Tyre” (Ezekiel 28:2), then about Satan, the “king of Tyre” (Ezekiel 28:12), who is influencing the man, and then again about Satan’s human instrument, the “prince of Tyre.” Ezekiel 28:18-29 describes the fate of the human prince of Tyre — not of Satan the devil. (For more information on this subject, please read our free booklet, “The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.”)
Satan was created as a spirit being. Based on the Biblical revelation, God has decreed that spirit beings will not die. Please note that Lucifer, when he became Satan, was, at that time, “destroyed… from the midst of the fiery stones” (Ezekiel 28:16). He was cast out of heaven (compare Luke 10:18) — experiencing “crushing defeat.” But, he was not destroyed in the sense of being killed — as he continued to live as Satan, the adversary of God. From all the Biblical evidence revealed to us, Satan will continue to live, as a spirit being, for all eternity.
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Margaret Adair, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson
Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank
Our activities and literature, including booklets, weekly updates, sermons on CD, and video and audio broadcasts, are provided free of charge. They are made possible by the tithes, offerings and contributions of Church members and others who have elected to support this Work.
While we do not solicit the general public for funds, contributions are gratefully welcomed and are tax-deductible in the U.S. and Canada.
Donations should be sent to the following addresses:
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The Bible tells us to watch and be ready for the return of Christ. But watch what? With so much going on in the world, how can we distinguish between important and unimportant news? Just where do we focus our attention?
We see a European power bloc developing. We hear of right-wing activities in Germany and Austria. We listen to the Catholic Church proclaim that it is the only true Church of Christ. Some speculate that these developments could lead to a European economic superstate with one single currency, one political and military system, and even one religion. But would this be a good thing? Would such a Europe be on good terms with the United States of America? Just what does it all mean?
As surprising as it may seem, what is developing in Europe has been foretold, and is happening exactly as prophesied in the pages of a very ancient book—the Holy Bible. God inspired the writings in His Book, and His prophecies are real. No man could have foreknown these things, nor could any man have had the power to direct such events to happen exactly as told. But Almighty God has done just that. And He has made it possible for us to know what He is doing in world affairs—past, present and future (Amos 3:7). Without viewing history through the pages of the Bible, we cannot correctly interpret current events. So let us see where God says these events are leading.
Daniel the Prophet
When the Babylonians conquered and destroyed the ancient city of Jerusalem, they took some of the Jews captive and brought them to Babylon. One of the Jewish prisoners was Daniel, who was at that time still a very young lad. You may be familiar with the story of how Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den and how God spared his life. Or you might have heard about his three friends, also Jewish captives, and how God spared their lives in the fiery furnace. But did you know that Daniel was also one of the greatest prophets ever? God revealed events to Daniel that are NOW coming to pass. Daniel himself did not understand everything God inspired him to write, as these things were written for us to understand today (Dan. 12:8-10).
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had wondered about what would happen after his reign. He wanted to know the future, so God sent him a peculiar dream to let him know what would happen. However, the king could not interpret the dream. So he turned to his sorcerers and astrologers. But in order to trust their interpretation, he did not tell them what he had dreamt, requiring instead that they tell him. Yet none of them could.
When Nebuchadnezzar learned that Daniel was able to interpret dreams, he sent for him to interpret this strange dream. God revealed the contents of the dream and its meaning to Daniel, and he was able to relay this to the king. Daniel first tells the details of the dream: “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome! This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:31-35).
Imagine Nebuchadnezzar’s amazement! How could this Jewish slave know these things when none of his magicians could tell him? Verse 36: “This is the dream. Now we will tell the king the interpretation.” Daniel refers to “we,” yet he was alone. Daniel acknowledged that God was speaking through him. This was not Daniel’s own private interpretation.
He continues in verse 37, “You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength and glory…you are this head of gold.” Nebuchandnezzar was pictured in this image as the king of the first world-ruling empire from that time forward, the Chaldean or Neo-Babylonian Empire. But this dream was not just about Nebuchadnezzar. It also pictured events that would take place after his reign. Daniel continued in verse 39, “But after you shall arise another kingdom, inferior to yours; [depicted in the statue as the chest and arms of silver] then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth [the belly and thighs of bronze]. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron…and [it will] crush all others [the legs of iron].” The ten toes [iron and clay] symbolized ten kings who would rule together at the very end before the return of Christ. When these ten kings come into power they will rule for only a short time. For God will send Jesus Christ to set up a kingdom that will crush all human governments, symbolized by the STONE dashing the feet of the image and crushing it (vv. 41-45).
The dream depicts ONLY FOUR successive world-ruling empires in history from the time of Daniel. The first, as we’ve seen, was the Neo-Babylonian Empire. What was the second one? Daniel 5 gives us the answer. The Babylonian King Belshazzar, a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar, gave a feast during which he desecrated the holy things taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Suddenly, fingers of a hand were seen writing the famous words “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” on the wall (vv. 24-25). No one could explain the meaning until Daniel, now an old man, was called. He told Belshazzar that God had decreed that his kingdom would be taken from him and given to the Medes and the Persians. That same night, Belshazzar was slain and Darius the Mede received the kingdom (v. 30). Thus, the arms of the statue of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represented the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians.
What, then, is the identity of the third kingdom? In Daniel 8, God gave Daniel himself a vision. In it he saw a ram with two horns. The second horn came up later and was higher than the first horn. This ram was a conquering animal, which no other animal could withstand, until a male goat with one horn very swiftly entered the scene. It attacked the ram, cast him down to the ground and trampled him. After that, this goat became very great.
God sent the angel Gabriel to explain the meaning of the vision. Verse 20: “The ram which you saw, having the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.” As we’ve seen, when Babylon was conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire, the conquering kingdom was ruled by Darius the Mede. But later, the Persian side of the kingdom became more powerful, which is why the second horn, which came later, was greater than the first one. In any case, it should be clear that the goat which trampled the ram symbolizes the third world-ruling empire. And just what empire did the goat represent? Daniel 8:21: “And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.” In studying history, we can see that Greece, after its takeover by the Macedonians, did subdue and conquer the Medo-Persian Empire. That would make its most powerful king, Alexander the Great, the large horn in Daniel’s vision. Indeed, when Alexander was later in Judea, he would be shown this account in the book of Daniel and would himself acknowledge that this prophecy was about him.
The angel Gabriel went on to explain that after Alexander’s death, his empire would be divided among four powers. Verse 22: “Four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its [same] power.” Again, history confirms that that is exactly what happened. When Alexander died, his empire ended up divided among four of his generals. It’s awesome to realize that this prophecy, given hundreds of years before these events, was fulfilled exactly as it had been foretold.
We have now identified the first three world-ruling empires from Daniel’s time—the Neo-Babylonian, the Medo-Persian and the Greco-Macedonian Empires. What is the fourth? In chapter 7, God had given Daniel another dream—this one involving four great beasts coming up from the sea. An angel explains that the beasts represent four kings or kingdoms. Daniel 7:4: “The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till the wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man; and a man’s heart was given to it.” This clearly describes the Babylonian Empire and its most powerful king, Nebuchadnezzar. Because of his pride, Nebuchadnezzar was made insane for seven years, living like an animal, until God restored his sanity (Dan. 4). This restoration is symbolized here by the heart of man being given to the beast, and by the fact that it is now standing like a man, having lived previously like an animal.
Daniel then describes the second beast as a bear (7:5), which represented the second world-ruling empire, the Medo-Persian Empire. This would be followed by a third beast described by Daniel as a leopard in verse 6: “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.” The third empire, as we’ve seen, was the Greek Empire. The wings of the bird show how swiftly Alexander conquered the world, as also symbolized by the swiftness of the goat in the other vision. The four heads of this beast represent the four generals among whom the empire became divided after Alexander’s death. They were also symbolized as the goat with four horns.
So what about the fourth kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2, symbolized by legs made of iron? In this vision of the four beasts in chapter 7, Daniel describes the fourth in verse 7: “After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.”
The meaning is explained in verse 23: “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom.” So the beast with iron teeth would be different from the previous kingdoms because ten kings or kingdoms would arise from it. Keep in mind now Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the statue with its iron legs and its feet and ten toes of iron and clay.
What kingdom or empire replaced the Greek Empire and its four divisions? History tells us that it was the empire of Rome. The fourth beast that Daniel sees in this vision with its iron teeth symbolizes the fourth world-ruling empire—the Roman Empire—which is to last until the return of Christ. But how can that be? Is not the Roman Empire long gone—a relic of the past? We must remember that the Bible tells us that ten kings would come out of the fourth kingdom. In other words, the Roman Empire would fall, but it would survive through ten renewals or resurrections, all the way up until the return of Christ. Amazingly, the tenth and very last resurrection of the Roman Empire is in the process of forming in Europe right now! And this tenth resurrection will last until the coming of Christ. Yes, Christ’s return is imminent! This is why it is critical to watch and understand what is happening on the world scene.
End-Time Events Revealed to John
In the Book of Revelation, Jesus Christ revealed end-time events to the Apostle John. Like Daniel, John sees peculiar looking beasts that symbolize world-ruling empires. John describes what he saw in one of those visions in Revelation 13:1: “I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion.” The parallels with the four beasts that Daniel saw earlier are remarkable—the first beast in Daniel’s vision was like a lion, the second like a bear and the third like a leopard. Here John sees only one beast, but it has combined elements of all the beasts that Daniel saw—a lion, a bear, and a leopard. In addition, the beast John saw had seven heads. And if you count the heads of the four beasts Daniel saw, there are seven heads too—the head of the lion, the head of the bear, the four heads of the leopard, and of course the head of the fourth beast. Furthermore, the beast John saw had ten horns, and the fourth beast Daniel saw had ten horns as well.
The beast John saw represents the Roman Empire. It is seen as one composite beast, as it had swallowed up the previous three kingdoms. The Babylonian, Medo-Persian and Greek empires had already come and gone—although their territory and characteristics had been absorbed by Rome.
Rome Rises Again—and Again
Let’s follow the history of the Roman Beast. Revelation 13:3: “I saw one of its heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed.” The Roman Empire fell and the world believed it would never rise again (symbolized by the deadly wound). But God revealed through Daniel and through the Apostle John that there would actually be ten revivals of the Roman Empire, nine of which have already occurred.
After the destruction of Rome, three so-called “barbarian” powers, who were all followers of an unorthodox nominally Christian faction called Arianism, revived the Roman Empire. This happened under King Gaiseric of the Vandals, under King Odoacer of the Heruli, and under King Theodoric of the Ostrogoths. These are the first three horns of the fourth beast that Daniel saw—the first three resurrections of the Roman Empire.
The fourth resurrection then occurred under Justinian in A.D. 554. At that time, lands of the old West Roman Empire were taken back from the Arian “barbarians” by the Romans of the Eastern Empire under its emperor, Justinian. He also restored the rule of “orthodox” Roman Catholicism to the West. Known in history as the Imperial Restoration, this is understood by many to be the biblical “healing of the deadly wound” the Roman Empire had received from the barbarian powers.
The fifth resurrection occurred under Charlemagne (Charles the Great) in A.D. 800. The sixth occurred under Otto the Great in A.D. 962. The seventh occurred under Charles V of Hapsburg in 1530, the eighth under Napoleon Bonaparte ruling from 1804 until 1814, and yes, the ninth has also already occurred, under Mussolini and Hitler. Thus, what is happening right now in Europe is the tenth and final resurrection of that same Roman Empire. As we can see, putting the prophecies of the Bible together with history gives understanding to the past, the present and the future.
Let us look now at Revelation 17, where John is given another vision of a beast with ten horns. He writes, “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour [for a very short time] with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings” (v. 12). These ten kings will try to conquer Jesus Christ when He returns, but will be defeated—as depicted by the stone in Daniel 2 shattering not only the toes, but the whole statue.
These prophecies, we can see, fit together like small pieces of a big puzzle, and, once put together, they form a big picture. It is exciting to understand what God reveals about world events through these prophecies! According to these visions of Daniel and John, the final resurrection of the Roman Empire would involve ten kings, all in power at the time of Christ’s return. Europe is being directed to fulfill these prophecies as nations attempt to unite, first on the basis of economics, but ultimately on the grounds of military interests and religious unity as well. There is already talk among European leaders about a federal constitution to govern the participating nations. History unfolds exactly as the Bible foretells.
Identity of the End-Time Beast
The word “beast” in biblical terminology can refer to a system of government and to the leader of that system, just as the words “kingdom” and “king” refer to an empire and also to the leader of that empire. Daniel and John both saw beasts in their visions, identified as world-ruling empires. But every empire has a leader. Can we identify the actual leader of the final resurrection of the Roman Empire?
Revelation 19:19 says that the Beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gather together to fight against the returning Jesus Christ. The Beast here refers to an individual who will lead the kings of the earth and their armies to fight Jesus Christ when He comes back. He is the final end-time leader of the revived Roman Empire.
God reveals more about this end-time leader in Daniel 11. This prophecy starts with the rule of Persia (the second empire) and covers the subsequent centuries and events all the way up to the return of Christ. The king of the North is the final leader of the revived Roman Empire and the king of the South is a mighty leader in the Arab region of the world. We may not yet know the emerging European leader who will become the king of the North, but the Bible describes his nature. Daniel 11:36 says, “Then the king shall do according to his own will; he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.” The “wrath” is a reference to the wrath of God spoken of in the book of Revelation. God will be angry with all nations because they have forsaken Him and are living so wickedly, just as in the time of Noah. This final leader of the Roman Empire, then, will exalt himself until God’s wrath strikes him down.
Continuing in Daniel 11:38, “He [the Beast] shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory.” This conquering military leader will have no regard for the Almighty God of heaven. Verse 40: “At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through.” Remember the swift leopard in Daniel? The king of the North will essentially come against the king of the South in a blitzkrieg! Then it says, “He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown.” In World War II, Mussolini invaded the Middle East, but he never reached Jerusalem. The next and final leader of the Roman Empire will do just that! Verse 44: “But news from the east and the north shall trouble him [threats coming from countries northeast of Jerusalem, such as Russia, China, India and Japan]; therefore, he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.”
This means war in the Middle East! A war that will spread to countries of the former Eastern bloc. A coming “United States of Europe,” under the leadership of the king of the North, will engage in a worldwide war with the Middle and Far East! Yes, another world war!
Then in verse 45: “And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain [Jerusalem]; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.” Why will no one help him? What about the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain? They don’t seem to be mentioned here in this war triggered by the united Europe. Are they neutral? No. By the time this prophecy is fulfilled, these nations will no longer be free to help.
The United States and Britain in Prophecy
Historical and archaeological records in the light of biblical evidence have clearly shown that Great Britain and the United States of America are descended from Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph of the tribe of Israel. (The modern state of Israel is descended from Judah, also of the tribe of Israel.) It has also been learned that the modern German-speaking nations are the descendants of the biblical Assyrians.
With this background information, notice Hosea 5:13: “When Ephraim [modern Great Britain and the nations of the British Commonwealth] saw its sickness, and Judah [the modern state of Israel or the Jews] saw his wound [apparently inflicted in a war yet to come], then Ephraim went to Assyria [modern Germany] and sent to King Jareb; yet he cannot cure you, nor heal you of your wound.”
Jareb was not the name of any historical Assyrian emperor. Instead, King Jareb of Assyria is actually the king of the North and the leader of the end-time united Europe. The word Jareb in Hebrew connotes a fighter, one who is quarrelsome or one who will contend. And indeed, he will be a fighter and will be quarrelsome. Many Bible translations call him the Great King. He may be even called by the title, “the Great,” just like others before him—Otto the Great, Charles the Great and Alexander the Great.
This prophecy seems to indicate that Ephraim, England and the British Commonwealth, as well as Judah, the Jews, are first on good terms with Assyria, Germany. They even ask them for help, but it won’t come. And soon thereafter, any friendly relationship will change. Right now Europe enjoys a fairly good relationship with Great Britain and the United States. But this will not last, and the whole world will be astonished at the change!
Hosea 7:11: “Ephraim also is like a silly dove, without sense—they call to Egypt [for help], they go to Assyria [for help]. Wherever they go, I will spread my net on them; I will bring them down like birds of the air; I will chastise them according to what their congregation has heard.” Now why would God do such a thing? Hosea 9:1 answers: “Do not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples, for you have played the harlot against your God.” In other words, the modern nations of Israel and Judah have adopted pagan customs and rejected the worship of the true God. God warns through prophecy what He is going to do and why, so there can be no doubt.
Hosea 9:3 gives details about the future of these wayward nations: “They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and shall eat unclean things in Assyria.” Just as Old Testament Israel was enslaved in Egypt, so the modern descendants of Israel, mainly the British peoples and the peoples of the United States of America, will be enslaved. It surely seems unbelievable right now that they will become prisoners of war, yet it is prophesied to happen! Jeremiah 50:33 says, “The children of Israel were oppressed, along with the children of Judah; all who took them captive have held them fast; they have refused to let them go.”
Another clear and sobering prophecy of Israel and Judah’s punishment can be found in Ezekiel 6:6: “In all your dwelling places the cities shall be laid waste, and the high places shall be desolate…. The slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Yet I will leave a remnant, so that you may have some who escape the sword among the nations, when you are scattered throughout the countries. Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations where they are carried captive, because I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me.”
In Ezekiel 39:23, God states, “The Gentiles will know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them.” Even Gentile nations will know why God is allowing this captivity of the modern-day descendants of Israel and Judah. The Germans will be the dominant people of the coming united Europe, which.will conquer both the United States of America and Great Britain as well as the Jews, transporting captives to Europe and Egypt. This will all happen just prior to the return of Jesus Christ—for, in the remainder of Ezekiel 39, the prophet reveals that Christ will come to free the captives and bring them back into their land.
Hosea 11 confirms this. Jesus Christ says, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel…? [God] will roar like a lion. When He roars, then His sons shall come trembling… like a bird from Egypt, like a dove from the land of Assyria, and I will let them dwell in their houses, says the Lord” (vv. 8-11). Jesus Christ is going to come back to end this captivity. Also, in Jeremiah 46:27, He says, “Do not be dismayed, O Israel. For behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring [all your descendants] from the land of their captivity.”
Christ will come back to make an end of the war and destruction going on. Conditions will be so terrible that if Jesus Christ were not to intervene, all of mankind would be annihilated. He states in Matthew 24:22, “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved [alive], but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” That means no human being on the face of the earth would survive. You need to understand what is happening and what you need to do to be saved.
Isaiah 10:5 reveals more about the person who will launch the world into a devasting war: “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hand is My indignation.” God will use Assyria to punish Israel and Judah, but afterward, He will deal with Assyria. Verse 6: “I will send him against an ungodly nation and against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, to seize the spoil, to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” God Himself is calling the modern house of Israel an ungodly nation because they have forsaken Him! But then He says something interesting about Assyria. “Yet he does not mean so, nor does his heart think so, but it is in his heart to destroy, and cut off not a few nations.” The king of Assyria will not realize that God is using him. Indeed, as we’ve seen, He will blaspheme the true God. He will choose to follow a foreign and strange god. So it isn’t in his heart to be a tool in God’s hands. He intends to conquer nations and gain power. But God will eventually bring him down because of his arrogance and pride. Verse 12: “Therefore, it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, ‘I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.’ ”
How? Isaiah 14:25 says, “I will break the Assyrian in My land [remember, King Jareb, the king of the North, will ultimately move his headquarters to Jerusalem] and on My mountains tread him underfoot. Then his yoke [the yoke of slavery that he inflicts on Israel and Judah] shall be removed from them, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
Isaiah 30:30-33 specifies how God will deal with the king of Assyria. “The Lord will cause His glorious voice to be heard, and show the descent of His arm, with the indignation of His anger and the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, tempest, and hailstones. For through the voice of the Lord Assyria shall be beaten down, as He strikes with the rod. [Remember the stone that came from heaven and struck the ten toes of the statue? The ten toes are the ten kings who give their allegiance to the Beast, the King of Assyria.] And in every place where the staff of punishment passes, which the Lord lays on him, it will be with tambourines and harps; and in battles of brandishing He will fight with it.”
Verse 33: “For Tophet was established of old, yes for the king of Assyria it is prepared.” Now who or what is Tophet? Tophet is a Hebrew word meaning “a burning place” or “a lake of fire.” A lake of fire, then, is prepared for the king of Assyria. God has made this Tophet, this lake of fire, deep and large. Verse 33 continues, “Its pyre is fire with much wood; the breath of the Lord like a stream of brimstone, kindles it.” This correlates with Revelation 19, where the Beast, the end-time leader of the Roman system, will be thrown into a lake of fire and brimstone when Jesus Christ returns.
It is clearly Jesus Christ and not a man who will throw the King of Assyria into this lake of fire. As it says in Isaiah 31:8-9, “Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of a man and a sword not of mankind shall devour him… whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.”
It is interesting to note that at least three leaders, and possibly as many as seven leaders, of the various revivals of Roman Empire were descendants of the Assyrians. And the Bible informs us that the last leader, called the king of the North, the Beast and King Jareb, will also be an Assyrian. For this reason, we must pay close attention to what is happening in Europe, and among the Germans in particular.
The Scarlet Beast
In Revelation 17, the Apostle John is given a vision of a different beast than the one in chapter 13—this one being a scarlet beast but also having seven heads and ten horns. The most striking difference, however, is that the scarlet beast is ridden by a woman—a harlot. Revelation 17:5 identifies the woman as “mystery, babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth.” This woman is depicted in verse 6 as drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. In verse 18 the woman is also identified as that great city that reigns over the kings of the earth, the city that sits on seven mountains (v. 9). Though here called Babylon, the famed City of Seven Hills is the city of Rome!—successor to ancient Babylon politically, militarily, economically and religiously. It is this city that rides the scarlet beast with the seven heads and the ten horns. The seven heads of the Beast are seven kings or seven kingdoms (v. 10). These are successive kingdoms, one following the other. Five have already fallen, one is, and the last one has not yet arrived.
In Revelation 13, the ten horns of the beast depicted ten resurrections of the Roman Empire. Nine, as we’ve seen, have already taken place, and the tenth is now in the preliminary stages of forming. Comparing the beast in Revelation 13 with the beast in Revelation 17, we can see that the heads of the beast in Revelation 17 depict the seven last resurrections of the Roman Empire—the very last resurrection being just ahead of us, which will include the ten horns or rulers mentioned earlier. The woman sits on these last seven resurrections of the beast. That is, the woman was only instrumental in the last seven revivals of the Roman Empire—not the first three.
This woman or city is described as both an economic power and a religious power. The Ryrie Study Bible comments in a footnote to Revelation 17:5, “Though the famous city of Babylon was on the Euphrates River, the name seems to be a symbolic reference to Rome. In chapter 18 it represents more the political and commercial aspect of the revived Roman Empire. Thus the term stands both for a city and for a (religious and commercial) system related to the city (much like ‘Wall Street,’ which is both a place and a system).”
An interesting statement in Halley’s Bible Handbook agrees with this assessment: “The description of Babylon the great… exactly fits Papal Rome. Nothing else in world history does fit.” Unger’s Bible Handbook states, “The great harlot denotes a religious system that compromises truth for worldly power. She is guilty of prostituting truth and purity, intoxicating men by her doctrines and practices which violate the Word of God. She heads up the corrupt religious system of the end-time. It represents in fullest scope all apostate religious movements—from the inception in the ancient Babylon of Nimrod to the terrible consumation and apostate Christianity and other evil religious forces of the last day. The revived Roman Empire, with its end-time emperor—the Beast—appears as the agent of the harlot’s destruction. The woman has her headquarters in the Beast’s capital, which is the seven-hilled city of Rome” (p. 870).
Note that it is the seven last revivals of the Roman Empire that are ridden by the woman, a religious power. The first three were not. The first three revivals occurred under leaders with a different religion, that of Arianism, which was labeled a heresy by the Roman Catholic Church. But the last seven occur under the control and with the approval of the Church of Rome. Let’s review what has happened historically, looking at the various Roman revivals we’ve already seen:
The first of the seven last resurrections of the Roman Empire occurred under Justinian in A.D. 554. He was the one mainly responsible for wiping out the barbarian tribes, but he did so at the behest of a succession of Roman popes. The second of the seven last resurrections occurred under Charlemagne or Charles the Great, who was crowned in A.D. 800 by Pope Leo III. The third of the seven last resurrections occurred under Otto the Great, under whose name the “Roman Empire of the German Nation” was coined. He was crowned in 962 by Pope John XII. The fourth of the seven last resurrections occurred under Charles V Habsburg, who was crowned in 1530 by Pope Clement VII. By this time, the name “Holy Roman Empire” was in popular usage because of the close contact between the state and the so-called Holy Roman Church. Then the fifth resurrection of the last seven occurred under Napoleon Bonaparte, who was also crowned by a pope.
The sixth of the last seven resurrections occurred under Hitler and Mussolini. Although neither Hitler nor Mussolini were crowned by a pope, a close partnership existed between the city of Rome under Pope Pius XI and Italy and Germany. In this partnership, Mussolini signed the Lateran Treaty with the papacy in 1929, establishing papal sovereignty over Vatican City. This event affirmed Roman Catholicism as the only religion of Italy and, in turn, the papacy officially recognized Mussolini as the rightful Italian governor. Later, Mussolini would proclaim that he had revived the Roman Empire and would call himself a Roman emperor. Also, the Vatican signed a concordat with Hitler in 1933, protecting the rights of the church under the Nazi regime. This gave Hitler’s government an outward semblance of legitimacy.
The seventh and last resurrection of the Roman Empire, though yet ahead of us, is already beginning. As with the previous six resurrections, the woman—the papal city of Rome—will “ride,” or direct the activities of, the seventh resurrection as well.
This too was prophesied in Daniel’s vision of the four beasts—with the fourth beast having ten horns. The ten horns pictured the ten resurrections of the Roman Empire. Daniel 7 deals with the first three of these resurrections. Then, in verse 8, Daniel says, “I was considering the [ten] horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots.”
Who or what is this little horn? An angel was sent to Daniel to explain. He says in verse 24, “The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings.” He would be responsible for the demise of the first three resurrections of the Roman Empire. “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law.” This little horn, the religious power synonymous with the woman riding the scarlet beast, would change times and law, or rather, change the law regarding holy times. This power is described in still another way in the book of Revelation.
In Revelation 13:11-17, John sees a second beast that has two horns like a lamb but speaks like a dragon. It is a religious power, claiming to be the Lamb or Jesus Christ, but is influenced by the dragon, or Satan. The second beast, we are told, exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. From the time the second beast arrives on the scene, both beasts will continue to exist, side by side. This beast performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven in the sight of men. “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the [first] beast.” The first beast, the political power, does not do any signs, but the second beast, the religious power, does. “He [the second beast, identical with the little horn and the woman riding the beast] causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the [first] beast, or the number of his name.”
How Will You Be Identified?
What is this mark of the Beast? And what has the second beast, the religious power, to do with it? The mark comes from the first beast. But the second beast causes all people to accept this mark. We can get a clue about its character from what has gone before in the Roman Empire and its revivals. Notice what historian Will Durant says in The Age of Faith, volume 4 of his renowned work, The Story of Civilization, about the Code of Justinian: “This Code, like the Theodosian, enacted orthodox Christianity into law. It began by declaring for the Trinity…. It acknowledged the ecclesiastical leadership of the Roman Church, and ordered all Christian groups to submit to her authority…. Relapsed heretics were to be put to death… and other dissenters were to suffer confiscation of their goods, and were declared incompetent to buy or sell, to inherit or bequeath; they were excluded from public office, forbidden to meet, and disqualified from suing orthodox Christians for debt” (1950, p. 112).
So those who were not orthodox Catholics were forbidden from buying and selling—i.e. conducting business. Indeed, those branded “heretics” faced a death sentence. Thus, the mark of the Beast apparently means general participation in the worship system of the revived Roman Empire. Of course, there are some aspects of worship which delineate those who refuse to participate more than other factors.
The little horn, remember, intended to change times and laws—indeed, to change the law regarding holy times—and persecuted God’s people who did not accept its change. God has commanded His people to keep certain times holy and, during these holy times, His people are not to engage in commerce. The little horn changed those times, replacing God’s holy times with times designated by man to be holy. A very obvious aspect of the mark of the Beast, then, will apparently revolve around worship days—indeed, this itself would impact days on which “buying and selling” could be conducted. And the little horn, the woman riding the beast, will cause people to accept the mark of the Beast under pain of death. As in the past, it appears that the woman will influence the political power of the Roman Empire to command people to work during God’s holy times, while prohibiting work at other times, thereby “causing” (cf. Rev. 13:15) true Christians who will refuse to comply to be put to death.
The Bible is very clear about which days GOD has made holy—the weekly Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) and certain annual Holy Days, which are also called Sabbaths in the Bible (cf. Lev. 23). God commands His people in Exodus 31:13-17, “Surely My Sabbaths [plural—the weekly Sabbath and the seven annual Sabbaths] you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you…. You shall keep the Sabbath… for it is holy to you…. Whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.” So, in contrast to the mark of the Beast, we have a sign of God and His people—the observance of His Sabbaths.
The Sabbath command, it must be understood, is not just for the Jewish people, as many today will argue. Rather, the Sabbath was made, as Christ said, “for man” (Mark 2:27) at the very time when man was created—when there was no distinction between Jews and non-Jews. It was clearly made for both Israelites and Gentiles (Is. 56:6-7).
The Bible makes clear the difference between keeping the Sabbath holy and refraining from using the Sabbath for our own pursuits. Isaiah 56:2 reads, “Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and keeps his hand from doing evil.” God says in Isaiah 58:13, “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord.”
The Bible associates the right hand with our actions and it associates the forehead with the seat of our thoughts. Remember, the mark of the Beast would be accepted on the right hand and on the forehead. In Ezekiel 3:7-9 God laments the fact that Israel, both ancient and present, will not listen to Him. He says, “The house of Israel will not listen to you [i.e. Ezekiel], because they will not listen to Me…. I have made… your forehead strong against their foreheads.” God was talking about the thoughts, or the minds of people. In Exodus 13:9 the keeping of God’s Sabbaths is associated with the right hand and the forehead as well. We read, “It shall be as a sign to you on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes [i.e. in your forehead], that the Lord’s law may be in your mouth.”
It is interesting to note that, as the people of this world accept the mark of the Beast on their foreheads, so God will place a mark or a sign on the foreheads of those people who anguish over the atrocities at that time. And He will do this to protect them from harm. God tells His angels in Ezekiel 9:4, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it…. Do not come near anyone on whom is the mark.” The book of Revelation also talks about God protecting His servants. He tells His angels, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads” (7:3).
In Revelation 20:4, John says, “Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Those who REFUSE the mark of the Beast will be rewarded with eternal life and will rule with Christ during the Millennium, God’s Millennium. Those who DO receive the mark of the Beast will be punished by God: “If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out full strength into His cup of His indignation” (14:9). These are serious warnings! We must be sure that we are identified by the sign of God, not the mark of the Beast.
Sabbath or Sunday Worship?
Have you ever questioned why people worship on Sunday instead of the Sabbath? Or why they keep Easter and Christmas? Or why they don’t keep God’s commanded Holy Days? We will now look into these matters and see what they have to do with the mark of the Beast.
Let’s review again the influence that the little horn has had down through history. Though the weekly and annual Sabbaths are holy to God and He commanded Christians to keep them, the little horn changed the law regarding holy times by substituting other worship days—replacing the weekly Sabbath with Sunday and the annual Sabbaths with traditional holidays like Easter and Christmas. Christmas and Easter are rooted in paganism, as any good encyclopedia will show. Even weekly Sunday worship comes to us from paganism—the honoring of the sun god on the day of the Sun.
Some argue that the Bible has endorsed a change from the Sabbath to Sunday. But an honest study of the Scriptures shows that the Bible does not justify such a change. In the New King James Version of the Bible, Hebrews 4:9 says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” The Greek word for “rest” here is sabbatismos. It literally means “keeping of the Sabbath.” The New International Version reads, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God.” Perhaps the clearest rendering is in the Lamsa translation which reads, “It is therefore the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath.” Yes, if we are God’s people, then it is our DUTY to keep the Sabbath!
At the time of King Charles I of England, Cox wrote in Sabbath Laws, “For it will not be found in scripture where Saturday is no longer to be kept, or turned into the Sunday wherefore it must be the church’s authority that changed the one and instituted the other.” He stated that because there is nothing in the Bible to justify this change, it had to be the church’s authority to change the Sabbath and replace it with Sunday.
Issac William, Doctor of Divinity of the Church of England, concurs with Cox. He wrote in Volume 1 of Plain Sermons on the Catechism, “Where are we told in Scripture that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day. The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the Church has enjoined it.”
Of course, not everyone agreed. John Milton wrote, “It will surely be far safer to observe the seventh day, according to the express commandment of God, than on the authority of mere human conjecture to adopt the first.” He’s saying that it’s far safer to follow the commandment of God than to go along with what human beings have come up with. A German commentator, Dr. Eck, writing as early as 1553, states, “The church has transferred the observance from Saturday to Sunday by virtue of her own power, without Scripture.”
Theologians and commentators alike know that Sabbath observance is biblical, and that Sunday observance was instituted without God’s authority. Too many people have accepted this unauthorized change of God’s holy time, thus allowing themselves to be deceived. The Swiss reformer, John Calvin, admitted that the Bible teaches the observance of the Sabbath, not of Sunday. But, like Martin Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, he was unwilling to go back to Sabbath worship. He justified it by saying, “The old fathers [the church fathers, not the patriarchs of the Bible] put in the place of the Sabbath the day which we call Sunday. King Charles I of England declares that the celebration of the feast of Easter was instituted by the same authority that changed the Sabbath into the Lord’s day, or Sunday; for it will not be found in scripture where Saturday is discharged to be kept, or turned into Sunday. Therefore, my opinion is that those who will not keep this feast of Easter may as well return to the observation of Saturday, and refuse the weekly Sunday, since it was the church’s authority that changed the one and instituted the other.”
Now what church or what human authority was responsible for changing the Sabbath to Sunday, and replacing God’s designated Holy Days with pagan holidays, such as Easter and Christmas? History shows that it was the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, the Protestant churches that refuse to keep the Sabbath have essentially submitted to the Roman Catholic Church’s authority in this matter. They have not submitted to the Bible’s authority, because the Bible nowhere endorses such changes. Even churches that keep the Sabbath but also keep the pagan festivals of Christmas and Easter, while failing to keep God’s ANNUAL Sabbaths, have, however unwittingly, accepted the authority of Rome as well.
In 1845, American Elder Preble observed, “Thus we see Daniel 7:25 fulfilled. The little horn changing times and laws. Therefore it appears to me that all who keep the first day for the Sabbath are the Pope’s Sunday-keepers and God’s Sabbath-breakers.” A very strong statement indeed!
Christina Tolingerin, a German martyr of the 16th century, stated concerning holy days and Sundays, “In six days the Lord made the world, on the seventh day He rested. The other holy days [referring to holidays like Easter, Christmas, New Year’s, etc.] have been instituted by popes, cardinals, and archbishops.”
Wolfgang Capto wrote about the Sabbatarians in Lichtenstein at the end of the 16th century, “The Sabbatarians teach that the outward Sabbath, i.e. Saturday, still must be observed. They say that Sunday is the Pope’s invention.”
The Roman Catholic Church knows full well and teaches that the Bible does NOT endorse or permit a change from Sabbath to Sunday worship. It is clearly expressed in Roman Catholic theology, however, that the church can override the Bible. And this is the basis for their change.
Quoting from The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, published in 1946: “Q: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? A: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” They admit to changing the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday. “Q: By what authority did the church substitute Sunday for Saturday? A: The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that devine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her.” But did Jesus Christ bestow on her the power to change the Sabbath law? Christ says that HE is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28), and nowhere in the Bible does He say anyone has the authority to change what He instituted!
In the late 19th century, Archbishop James Cardinal Gibbons challenged the Protestants for their refusal to accept the Roman Catholic Church’s authority over biblical matters. The Protestants believed that ONLY the Bible can tell you how to live. Gibbons pointed out that if they really believe that, then they must return to keeping the Sabbath. He admitted that the Bible nowhere authorized the sanctification of Sunday, but that it teaches the observance of Saturday.
Consider these challenging words by the archbishop, first published in 1893 in the Catholic Mirror: “Either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping of Sunday. Compromise is impossible. Will they [the Protestants] keep the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day, according to Scripture? Or will they keep the Sunday according to the traditions of the Catholic Church? God’s written word enjoins His worship to be observed on Saturday, absolutely, repeatedly, and most emphatically, with a most positive threat of death to him who disobeys…. This teacher [he is talking about the Bible] most emphatically forbids any change in the day for paramount reasons.”
Gibbons makes clear the Catholic Church’s position: “The Catholic church for over one thousand years before the existence of a Protestant, by virtue of her Divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday…. The Protestant world at its birth found the Christian Sabbath [Sunday] too strongly entrenched to run counter to its existence; it was therefore placed under the necessity of acquiescing in the arrangement, thus implying the [Catholic] Church’s right to change the day, for over 300 years. The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is therefore to this day the acknowledged offspring of the Catholic Church…. [The Protestants] adopted the written word as their sole teacher, which they had no sooner done than they abandoned it promptly… and by a perversity as willful as erroneous, they accept the teaching of the Catholic Church in direct opposition to the plain, unvaried and constant teaching of their sole teacher [the Bible] in the most essential doctrine of their religion.”
Gibbons does not stand alone with this attack on what he considers Protestant hypocrisy. Other Catholic authors have repeated the same accusations. The Catholic Church Extension Society in Chicago published the following statement by Peter R. Kraemer, a Catholic priest: “Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man. We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living church, the authority of the church, as a rule to guide us…. We accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws…. It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible.”
T. Enright, a Roman Catholic priest in Kansas City, Missouri, states, “Take, for instance, the day we celebrate—Sunday. What right have the Protestant churches to observe that day? None whatever. You say it is to obey the commandment, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ But Sunday is not the Sabbath according to the Bible and the record of time. Every one knows that Sunday is the first day of the week, while Saturday is the seventh day, and the Sabbath, the day consecrated as a day of rest. It is so recognized in all civilized nations. I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who will furnish any proof from the Bible that Sunday is the day we are bound to keep, and no one has called for the money…. It was the holy Catholic church that changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week.”
He goes on, “Which church does the whole civilized world obey? Protestants call us every horrible name they can think of—antichrist, the scarlet colored beast, Babylon, etc., and at the same time profess great reverence for the Bible, and yet by their solemn act of keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the power of the Catholic Church. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ But the Catholic Church says, ‘No, keep the first day of the week, and the whole world bows in obedience.’ ”
These remarkable quotes fit with what the Bible teaches. The Protestant churches compromised on a very essential matter. They accepted a major aspect of the mark of the Beast imposed on them by the Catholic Church (for, as stated earlier, it is likely that the mark of the Beast most visibly involves the rejection of God’s Sabbath and the adoption of the pagan Sunday). There are historical records, though, showing that some individuals and some Christian groups did not accept the Roman system of worship. They stood fast in keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths as commanded by God. And many were tortured and killed as a result.
In the History of the Norwegian Church, under the years 1435 and 1436, appears the following: “We counsel all the friends of God throughout all Norway who want to be obedient towards the holy church to let this evil of Saturday-keeping alone [so there existed Sabbath-keeping Christians at that time]; and the rest we forbid under penalty of severe church punishment to keep Saturday holy. It is forbidden under the same penalty to keep Saturday holy by refraining from labour.”
Here is a report from 1618 about a Mrs. Traske, a Sabbatarian in England: “At last for teaching only five days a week [she was a teacher, but refused to teach on the Sabbath], and resting upon Saturday she was carried to the new prison in Maiden Lane…. Mrs. Traske lay fifteen or sixteen years a prisoner for her opinion about the Saturday Sabbath.” She chose to follow the Bible and the Bible alone!
In 1604 in Ethiopia there were some who kept the Sabbath, but due to the influence of the Jesuits, the king of Ethiopia prohibited his subjects, upon severe penalties, to observe Saturday any longer.
Much has been written about the Waldenses. They taught and kept the Sabbath, for which they were severely persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. Reading from A General History of the Sabbatarian Churches, pages 88 and 89, “Of the many who were burned, and otherwise destroyed for Judaism, observes a Spanish author of the sixteenth century, it is not probable that one-tenth were of the race of Israel, but heretics, who, for persisting in saying that the law of Moses was still binding, were accused of Jewish practices, such as circumcision and sabbatizing, to the latter of which [Sabbath keeping] they uniformly plead guilty.” This book shows how Sabbath keepers were identified, how they were then arrested, tortured and finally killed.
Recall now the mark of the Beast and how there would be severe penalties for those who would not accept that mark on their forehead or on their right hand. As has been stated, there is strong indication that it has to do with the observance of worship days. Failure to comply with the Roman system in this regard will result in being forbidden to conduct business, which could put true Christians out on the street with no money to buy food. And the easiest way to identify someone’s religious convictions when it comes to keeping such days is to observe when he will and will not work or, if a business owner, when his business is open or closed.
Again, we already have examples in history. The account about the Waldenses goes on to say, “A Dominican inquisitor, in giving an account of the proceedings of that infernal tribunal in the north of Spain, declares that since it was known that many of the heretics were accustomed to solemnize the old Sabbath by religious worship, and an absolute inattention to secular employments [on the Sabbath], it became the policy of the Holy Office to take notice of such shops as were shut up on that day, and of such persons as were found to be absent from worldly engagements [again on the Sabbath]. The result answered my expectations, he continues, for when those people were arrested, and being brought before me, were shown the rack, they generally confessed their Judaical practices, at least so far as it related to sabbatizing, which the holy church had expressly forbidden.”
God’s Holy Days or Pagan Holidays?
So you see, the little horn, the woman that rides the Beast, has been around for a long time, and has blatantly changed what God Himself sanctified. In the process, God’s annual Holy Days were discarded and pagan holidays, such as Easter and Christmas, were adopted.
God specifically warned ancient Israel not to incorporate pagan elements in their worship of Him. He says in Deuteronomy 12:30-32, “Take heed to yourself… that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I will also do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods…. Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it, you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” The same warning is for us today!
But the Christian world today celebrates holidays steeped in paganism, while refusing to keep God’s weekly Sabbath or His annual Holy Days. For example, as already mentioned, Sunday was the day on which pagans worshiped their sun god since ancient times. That is where the name Sunday comes from. Easter was a feast of fertility for the goddess Astarte, also called Ishtar, Ostara or Eostre. Christmas was the holy day of Mithras, of Attis, and of other pagan gods. Remarkably, many pagan “saviors” were supposedly born on December 25, killed on a Friday, and resurrected on a Sunday during Easter time. Christ Himself was not born in December, nor killed on a Friday nor resurrected on a Sunday. Rather, Scripture indicates, with the support of history, that He was born in early autumn, before the rainy season. He couldn’t have been born later than that because shepherds were still in the fields with their sheep. Records confirm that He was crucified on Wednesday and resurrected on Saturday, just before sunset, thereby fulfilling the only sign He gave—that He would be in the grave for three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40).
In Jeremiah 7:18, God condemns “Easter cakes.” Notice: “The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they provoke Me to anger.” According to the Ryrie Study Bible, the queen of heaven is a reference to the Assyro-Babylonian goddess “Ishtar,” the ancient name for Easter—known in Hebrew as Ashtoreth. The prophet Jeremiah rebuked them for these practices but Israel refused to listen. Again, in Jeremiah 44:19, “The women also said, ‘And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without our husbands’ permission?” So they justified it by saying, “Our husbands told us to do it.”
Surprising as it may be to some, the Christmas tree is a relic of pagan tree worship, which is condemned in Jeremiah 10:3: “For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple.”
It is no secret that the early Roman Church absorbed pagan elements into their worship, and it was done in direct contradiction to God’s command not to do so. Why? To make the new faith attractive to Gentiles who were already steeped in pagan customs. These pagan customs were placed under a “Christian” mantle so that they would have the appearance of being godly. Traditional Christianity clearly violates God’s command to not learn our ways of worship from the Gentiles, to not add pagan elements to holy worship, and to not delete godly elements that are to be observed, such as the weekly and annual Holy Days. Traditional Christianity has, in effect, accepted the mark of the Beast by embracing human traditions that violate God’s laws. And there have been voices over the centuries warning against such conduct.
Although we hear a lot about religious cooperation between sister churches, the Catholic Church has recently made its long-standing doctrinal position very clear, pointing out that all churches outside of the Roman Catholic Church are not “sister” churches. Instead, the Catholic Church considers itself to be the only true Church of Jesus Christ, and it looks upon those in other churches as needing to return to the true fold of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church. Of course, even Protestant churches have never really left that fold completely anyway. For, though they claim sola scriptura (“only the Bible”) as the determinant of their faith, they still follow major doctrines contrary to the Bible that came through the Roman Church from the mystery religions of the ancient world, beginning with Babylon.
What the Protestant churches, and all people, need to do is to make a true break with Babylon and really turn to the Bible as their sole teacher. Now imagine for a moment if they were to do that. What would this mean? It would mean they would have to start keeping the Sabbath. They would have to start keeping God’s Holy Days. They would have to cease keeping festivals like Christmas and Easter, New Years, Halloween and other days steeped in paganism. They would have to repudiate a whole host of unbiblical teachings. And they would have to acknowledge the need to obey the law of God and start striving to do so in everything.
Don’t Be Deceived
You don’t have to follow the wayward world around you. You can be different. In 2 Thessalonians 2, the Apostle Paul warns,“Let no one deceive you by any means [indicating that you could be deceived]; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first [the falling away from true Christian worship to a false religion], and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits AS GOD in the temple of God, showing himself that he IS God” (vv. 3-4). Paul then says, “And then the lawless one [this False Prophet] will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth, and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (vv. 8-10). Do you have a LOVE of the truth? You must in order to be saved.
The end-time religious leader will claim to be God. And the military leader—the Beast, also called the king of the North—may even believe this for a while. For this religious figure, as we’ve seen, will be given the power to perform signs and wonders. Revelation 19:20 states that the False Prophet “worked signs” in the presence of the Beast “by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast.” Yet would people really fall for such deception in today’s world?
The masses historically follow strong leadership. And the last revival of the Roman Empire, ridden by the woman, will be infiltrated by demonic forces. In Revelation 16:13, we are told that both the Beast and the False Prophet will be demon-possessed, and that they will be able to influence other world leaders as well. It says, “And I saw three unclean spirits, like frogs, coming out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan], out of the mouth of the beast [the politico-economic leader], and out of the mouth of the false prophet [a religious leader]. For they [these unclean spirits] are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”
How can Satan’s demons ever be successful in influencing the armies of this world to fight the returning Jesus Christ. How could people ever think that they were able to fight Jesus Christ? Unfortunately, people will apparently be so deceived that they will NOT recognize the returning Jesus Christ. The woman riding the beast has a great deal of influence on people. Revelation 17:2 says, “The inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” They are made drunk spiritually. They will not know right from wrong, truth from error. They will apparently be deceived into thinking that the returning Christ is the Antichrist. They will believe that He comes to destroy Christianity. It appears that they won’t realize that He is Jesus Christ, our Savior, who has come to restore true worship and to destroy the deceivers.
Yes, people can be deceived. A book titled The Nazi Persecution of the Churches from 1933–1945 is quite revealing about events just prior to and during World War II, when the German people literally worshiped their Führer. In this case, the past may indeed be quite telling about the future, as Hitler was a forerunner of the final end-time dictator that will soon appear on the world scene.
A few key excerpts show how easily people can be deceived. We should never assume that it couldn’t happen again. One Pastor Leutheuser was quoted as saying, “Christ has come to us through Adolf Hitler. He was the decisive figure when the people were just about to go under. Hitler struck out for us and through his power, his honesty, his faith, his idealism—the Redeemer found us. We know today the saviour has come. We have only one task—to be German, not to be Christian.” The book also points out Hitler’s popularity at Nuremberg: “The crowd burned with fervour around Hitler—the saviour—the creator—the defender of the German Fatherland. Whatever he said was right and good. Whatever he proclaimed was destined to happen. However he acted, it was for the best. Hitler in the hearts of all, was held to be the Great Deliverer—sent from on high to herald the hoped-for deliverance of our nation.”
For another striking example of what was happening as early as 1936 in Germany, note this excerpt from a Christmas sermon preached in Solingen: “Christmas is a Feast of Light of our ancestors—the ancient Germans, and so is several thousand years old. In the height of the winter solstice between 23-25 of the Yule month (December), the various members of each family came together under the leadership of the head of the family and met under a tree in the woods. The Winter man—Old Ruprecht—as the representative of the old dying year, appeared and gave out gifts. Burning torches were attached to a tree, and soon the night of deepest darkness was lit up by the burning flames of the Christmas tree. With wide open eyes, young and old stood around the tree. The deepest darkness of the longest night could not take away from them the hope of seeing again the light of the sun, which their god would give them in the coming year. And this is why we still give gifts around the Christmas tree. Having sung some Christmas songs, our forefathers went home with the knowledge and the joy in their hearts that despite the deepest night, despite the ice and snow and the darkness, they were not forgotten or forsaken by their god. From now on the sun rose higher day after day and brought warmth and joy into the hearts of our ancestors. And just as our ancestors did not lose their faith in the coming light and the sun—despite the ice and cold of the longest night—yes indeed, even celebrated the Festival of Light—so we took stand today in the light of the long darkness. Germany, after the great war was threatened with collapse. But then he came who, despite the great darkness in so many German hearts, spoke of light and showed them the way to the light. His appeal found an echo in hundreds of thousands of German souls, who carried the appeal further. It swelled out like a sweeping cloud and then happened that greatest miracle—Germany awoke and followed the sign of the light—the swastika. The darkness is now conquered. Now suffering is over, which so long gripped our people. The sun is rising even higher with our ancient German symbol, the swastika, and its warmth surrounds the whole German people, melts our hearts together into one great German community. No one is left out—no one needs to hunger or freeze—despite the deep night, and snow and ice, because the warmth from the hearts of the whole people pours out, in the emblems of the National Socialist Welfare programme and the Winter Help work and carries the German Christmas in the most forsaken German heart. In this hour, Adolf Hitler is our benefactor—who has overcome the winter night with its terrors for the whole people, and has led us under the swastika to a new light and a new day.”
Historical records suggest that Adolf Hitler was demonically possessed—and that this demonic influence affected and influenced those with whom he came in contact. A book written by Klaus Fischer, titled Nazi Germany—a New History, has much to say about the personal life of Hitler. In describing an incident which took place when Hitler was nearly 17 years old, he says, “His only friend in Linz [at that time he was still in Linz, Austria], Gustl Kubizek, reports that Adolf enjoyed speechifying for him while the two friends were walking through deserted fields, punctuating his orations with violent movements and vivid gestures. One night, after listening to Wagner’s ‘Rienzi,’ Hitler led his friend atop a steep hill, where with feverish excitement he began speaking in a strange raspy voice that did not seem to belong to him. According to Kubizek, Hitler seemed possessed by his own daimon; and in a state of complete ecstasy and rapture, he transferred the character of Rienzi with visionary power to the plane of his own ambitions. This was the first time that Kubizek had seen this aspect of Hitler’s developing personality. Adolf’s belief that he was singled out to play a providential role in world history must have sounded strange to his young friend.”
The author goes on to state, “It is well-known that Hitler believed that he possessed the rare gift of prophetic sight (“Vorsehung”), and based some crucial decisions on this presumed insight…. He sensed invisible demonic forces all around him” (p. 303). Hitler’s anti-semitism, Fischer tells us, went “beyond prejudice; it was a psychopathology of a sort that must be ranked with witchcraft and demonology in the history of the human race” (p. 89).
When Hitler was 29 years old, “while still suffering from the effects of a mustard gas attack (at that time he was temporarily blinded), his mind appears to have snapped. It is suspected that he lapsed into a prolonged hysterical condition that seems to have triggered a number of insights of such power that he attributed them to a higher spiritual source” (p. 99).
Later, the same book informs us, German audiences seemed particularly mesmerized by Hitler’s voice. “There was something mysterious about it to many Germans, because it didn’t seem to be rooted in any local dialect or class” (p. 124).
And notice this regarding the now-famous Bierhallen-Putsch in Munich, November 1923, when Hitler was 34: “Hitler stepped back into the main hall, where the audience had become noticeably restless and impatient, and gave one of the most compelling performances of his life—so compelling that Professor Alexander von Müller, who was in the audience that night, referred to it as ‘a rhetorical masterpiece’ and confessed that ‘never before have I seen the mood of a mass audience change so quickly and dramatically. It was almost as if a sorcerer were casting a magic spell over them’ ” (p. 154).
Fischer points out that whenever Hitler listened to music, his friend Kubizek had observed years before, he was a changed man. His violence—because he was very well known for a violent temper—left him. He became quiet—yielding and tractable. Similarly, when King Saul of ancient Israel was plagued by a demon, David played music for him and he too was calmed and soothed (cf. 1 Sam. 16:14-23).
Additionally, hundreds of people have attested that the force of Hitler’s personality could not only attract, but convert, those who fell under its spell. Fischer reports about Hitler’s hypnotic eyes, “His eyes fascinated those who came under the influence. They were unusually light blue, with a faint tinge of greenish-grey. Hitler himself confessed that he had inherited them from his mother, whose eyes he compared to those of the Greek Medusa, whose piercing glance could turn a man into stone” (p. 300).
Hitler made a remarkable statement in 1938, when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced that he wanted to visit with him. “On September 13th, Chamberlain dispatched a telegram to Hitler, suggesting a personal meeting with the Fuehrer in hopes of peacefully resolving the Czechoslovakian crisis. The prospect of being visited by a British Prime Minister twenty years his senior, making his first flight to see him, immensely appealed to Hitler’s vanity. ‘Ich bin vom Himmel gefallen’ (I fell from heaven), he reportedly exclaimed after receiving Chamberlain’s telegram” (p. 426). This is not just some common expression in the German language. One can say, “Ich bin aus allen Wolken gefallen,” meaning “I fell out of all the clouds,” in expressing surprise. But the statement “Ich bin vom Himmel gefallen,” “I fell from heaven,” is totally unprecedented in the German language, as used in context by Hitler. But there is a personage who did fall from heaven—many, many, many years ago. This, of course, was Satan the Devil, when he tried to overthrow God (cf. Luke 10:18).
The French ambassador later on would say about Hitler, “The same man, good natured in appearance and sensitive to the beauties of nature, who across a tea table expressed reasonable opinions of European politics, was capable of the wildest frenzies—the most savage exultation—and the most delirious ambition…. This much is certain: he was no normal being. He was, rather, a morbid personality, a quasi-madman… a man possessed” (p. 431). And that is what he was! He called his invasion of Poland, “Teufelswerk,” the devil’s work.
When it was all over, notice the state the people of Germany were left in: “Germans, now released from the spell, were dumbfounded by what had happened to them. Karl Jaspers [a professor of philosophy] summed it all up well by confessing that ‘during the past twelve years, something has happened to us that seems like the remolding of our entire being. To put it in the form of an image: Devils have been raining blows upon us and have swept us away, together with themselves, into a chaos which has robbed us of sight and hearing…. We have experienced something like the witchcraft madness of the latter Middle Ages’” (p. 345).
The Choice Is Yours
You see, people worshiped Hitler, thinking he was their savior. Yet he didn’t perform any miracles whatsoever. But the end-time False Prophet will perform apparent miracles and will, thereby, deceive most people.
Make no mistake, accepting the mark of the Beast and rejecting the sign of God will affect your future. God commands us to watch the signs of the time and to pray always to be counted worthy to escape the horrible things in store for this world. God warns us to reject the mark of the Beast, and He commands us to keep His weekly and annual Sabbaths, the sign of His people. You are now being challenged to make a decision—either to go along with the rest of the world, which is headed for soon-coming destruction, or to seek God and live by His Truth as it is revealed to you. God’s true servants will receive His blessing and strength. They will live and reign with Christ the King when He breaks these kingdoms in pieces and rules the world in righteousness.
The choice is yours to make. We hope and pray that you will make the right one.
WorldNetDaily.com reports on a study entitled: “Sex, Drugs, and Delinquency in Urban and Suburban Public Schools.” The article states: “Many parents have fled urban schools seeking a safer and more wholesome environment for their children, but the Manhattan Institute says its survey indicates families face similar issues in the suburbs” (www.worldnetdaily.com).
Some of the issues include: sexual promiscuity, smoking, under-age drinking, use of illegal drugs and engagement in delinquent behavior. Neither environment accounted itself very well. Students, untrained in morality or in the fact that it is God Who establishes the ultimate standards for human behavior, were about equally engaged in bad behaviors whether in urban or suburban areas.
One very telling aspect of this study points out the incredible moral decline that has befallen young people in the United States: “Urban and suburban schools are virtually identical in terms of WIDESPREAD SEXUAL ACTIVITY. Two-thirds of all suburban and urban 12th graders have had sex; 43 percent of suburban 12th graders and 39 percent of urban 12th graders have had sex with a person with whom they did not have a romantic relationship” (Emphasis added).
This last category, “a person with whom they did not have a romantic relationship,” shows just how much the laws of God are being trampled underfoot and ignored in our generation. In this light, all need to consider what Galatians 6:7 states: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” This is an absolute and exacting law. Unfortunately, society is bringing judgment upon themselves, and this is poignantly sad for the young people of our generation who simply have not been taught God’s ways!
PANDEMIC?
The past two weeks have witnessed the emergence of an avian influenza in Asia that has lead to human deaths due to severe respiratory disease. “The World Health Organization has called for a united international effort–similar to the SARS response–to combat bird flu as the human death toll from the virus mounts” (www.cnn.com 1/27/2004).
“Since late last year, the flu has struck hundreds of thousands of birds and prompted widespread poultry culls in South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. In Vietnam, the problem began last October” (www.nature.com 1/13/04). The article from Nature continues: “Spates of bird flu are viewed with alarm because they are a probable source of the NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC.”
This article also points out the underlying reason that such fear is aroused by this current outbreak: “Fortunately, these viruses lacked the ability to hop easily between people, which helped to contain the problem. But a future strain might pick up this ability, either by mutating, or by mixing genes with a human flu virus. A virus capable of human-to-human transmission could rip through a population with little natural immunity, experts warn. ‘The ensuing virus would then be highly pathogenic and transmissible. This is why the World Health Organization [WHO] and the Vietnamese authorities are treating this matter seriously,’ says Shigeru Omi, WHO’s regional director for the western Pacific.”
Other articles reporting about this outbreak point out that there is a tendency for some nations to either cover-up cases in their own areas or to be overly cautious and slow in determining that infections are occurring. This frightening specter of non-cooperation leads some experts to conclude that an actual pandemic of global proportions could result. As witnessed in the SARS incident of last year, the financial blow to national economies can be catastrophic.
Jesus Christ warned that in the time period leading up to His return, “…there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and PESTILENCES; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11). Many of these kinds of things are happening even now; however, the Bible clearly teaches those who will listen and believe these warnings that we are now just at the forefront of these long prophesied events. This same chapter (21) shows us the approach we must take: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (v.36).
MEDIA LIES
In a stunning turn of events, “Tony Blair bounced back from looming political disaster yesterday with a combative endorsement of Lord Hutton’s report, which vindicated his conduct over Iraq and the Kelly affair, routing the Tory leader, Michael Howard, and other critics” (www.politics.guardians.co 1/29/04).
Continuing… “[Mr. Blair] angrily recalled how he had been accused of ‘lying, deceit and duplicity’ by the BBC and the Tories.” The toll on the British Broadcasting Corporation was swift: “The chairman of the BBC resigned on Wednesday and the broadcaster apologized for some of its reporting on the buildup to the war in Iraq after an inquiry by a senior judge lambasted the corporation. The report by Lord Hutton criticized journalist Andrew Gilligan, the BBC’s management and its supervisory board of governors, for a radio report saying the government ‘sexed up’ intelligence in a dossier on Iraqi weapons” (www.reuters.com 1/28/04). This reporting actually led to the suicide death of a Dr. Kelly when he was revealed as a source for the mis-reported story.
The Guardian article continues quoting Mr. Blair: ” ‘The communication by the media of information on matters of public interest and importance is a vital part of life in a democratic society. However the right to communicate such information is subject to the qualification–which itself exists for the benefit of a democratic society–the false accusations of fact impugning the integrity of others, including politicians, should not be made by the media.’ ”
Last year the United States experienced similar outrageous examples of reporters fabricating stories – often times not even witnessing the events they were supposed to be covering. And this kind of societal breakdown comes on the heels of highly publicized scandals involving some of the largest corporations in the nation. Greed for power, wealth and fame has overwhelmed far too many in positions of public trust and responsibility.
In the one sure and dependable source for truth, we will do well to heed the warning that God has for our generation: “…O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths” (Isaiah 3:12). Then note this timely commentary found in Isaiah 59:4: “No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.” Then, in verses 14-15: “Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. SO TRUTH FAILS, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.”
A RISING TIDE
Not so front, and not so center, is the issue of illegal immigration along the border between the U.S. and Mexico in this election year of 2004. Although President George Bush has proposed legalizing the status of illegal aliens in the United States as temporary workers, most politicians are generally looking the other way.
However, the flow of illegals threatens to virtually eliminate the border. In practical fact, that may already be the situation. “According to the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the study (by a Mexican government agency) was conducted by the National Population Council, or Conapo. It found the number of illegals coming from Mexico each year now exceeds 1 million. The report says about one-third of those who enter illegally, 390,000 annually, achieve their goal of staying in the U.S” (www.WorldNetDaily.com 1/26/04).
Some estimates place the number of Mexican illegals now living in the U.S. at over 10 million!
I don’t know what your sources for news are, but the royal family is coming to town soon and the media, for the most part, has failed to report it. This has resulted in only a very limited number hearing about the visit. Considering who this dynasty is and where they stand on the vital issues, this is really a shame.
As with most leaders they are promising what most want to hear. This really isn’t different from a lot of dignitaries out there. The difference is that this royal family is going to follow through on the plans previously laid out. How can they accomplish this when so many before them have failed? It’s because I am talking about the family of God. Christ will be returning to Earth with all power and authority (Rev 19:19-21), and He will see to it that His way is taught and observed throughout the entire world (Rom 14:11).
The great news is that They won’t be doing this alone. Right now in this present world, ruling families are quite small and exclusive. One has to be born into this group or marry into it. Interestingly enough this is the same way that we can become a part of the God family (John 3:5; Rev 19:7-9).
Right now the family of God consists of only 2 members – God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. The good news is that they are looking to add members very soon (For more information about this subject, read our booklet “God is a Family”). It will consist of those who heed His calling (John 6:44) and live according to His way of life (Mat 19:17).
What a wonderful prospect it will be, to be a part of this royal family…ruling together and ushering in an era of unparalleled peace and prosperity. NOW is the time to make the most of this valuable opportunity…if we would like to live forever and reign as kings and priests (Rev 5:10).
WorldNetDaily.com reports on a study entitled: “Sex, Drugs, and Delinquency in Urban and Suburban Public Schools.” The article states: “Many parents have fled urban schools seeking a safer and more wholesome environment for their children, but the Manhattan Institute says its survey indicates families face similar issues in the suburbs” (www.worldnetdaily.com).
Some of the issues include: sexual promiscuity, smoking, under-age drinking, use of illegal drugs and engagement in delinquent behavior. Neither environment accounted itself very well. Students, untrained in morality or in the fact that it is God Who establishes the ultimate standards for human behavior, were about equally engaged in bad behaviors whether in urban or suburban areas.
One very telling aspect of this study points out the incredible moral decline that has befallen young people in the United States: “Urban and suburban schools are virtually identical in terms of WIDESPREAD SEXUAL ACTIVITY. Two-thirds of all suburban and urban 12th graders have had sex; 43 percent of suburban 12th graders and 39 percent of urban 12th graders have had sex with a person with whom they did not have a romantic relationship” (Emphasis added).
This last category, “a person with whom they did not have a romantic relationship,” shows just how much the laws of God are being trampled underfoot and ignored in our generation. In this light, all need to consider what Galatians 6:7 states: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” This is an absolute and exacting law. Unfortunately, society is bringing judgment upon themselves, and this is poignantly sad for the young people of our generation who simply have not been taught God’s ways!
PANDEMIC?
The past two weeks have witnessed the emergence of an avian influenza in Asia that has lead to human deaths due to severe respiratory disease. “The World Health Organization has called for a united international effort–similar to the SARS response–to combat bird flu as the human death toll from the virus mounts” (www.cnn.com 1/27/2004).
“Since late last year, the flu has struck hundreds of thousands of birds and prompted widespread poultry culls in South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. In Vietnam, the problem began last October” (www.nature.com 1/13/04). The article from Nature continues: “Spates of bird flu are viewed with alarm because they are a probable source of the NEXT HUMAN PANDEMIC.”
This article also points out the underlying reason that such fear is aroused by this current outbreak: “Fortunately, these viruses lacked the ability to hop easily between people, which helped to contain the problem. But a future strain might pick up this ability, either by mutating, or by mixing genes with a human flu virus. A virus capable of human-to-human transmission could rip through a population with little natural immunity, experts warn. ‘The ensuing virus would then be highly pathogenic and transmissible. This is why the World Health Organization [WHO] and the Vietnamese authorities are treating this matter seriously,’ says Shigeru Omi, WHO’s regional director for the western Pacific.”
Other articles reporting about this outbreak point out that there is a tendency for some nations to either cover-up cases in their own areas or to be overly cautious and slow in determining that infections are occurring. This frightening specter of non-cooperation leads some experts to conclude that an actual pandemic of global proportions could result. As witnessed in the SARS incident of last year, the financial blow to national economies can be catastrophic.
Jesus Christ warned that in the time period leading up to His return, “…there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and PESTILENCES; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven” (Luke 21:11). Many of these kinds of things are happening even now; however, the Bible clearly teaches those who will listen and believe these warnings that we are now just at the forefront of these long prophesied events. This same chapter (21) shows us the approach we must take: “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man” (v.36).
MEDIA LIES
In a stunning turn of events, “Tony Blair bounced back from looming political disaster yesterday with a combative endorsement of Lord Hutton’s report, which vindicated his conduct over Iraq and the Kelly affair, routing the Tory leader, Michael Howard, and other critics” (www.politics.guardians.co 1/29/04).
Continuing… “[Mr. Blair] angrily recalled how he had been accused of ‘lying, deceit and duplicity’ by the BBC and the Tories.” The toll on the British Broadcasting Corporation was swift: “The chairman of the BBC resigned on Wednesday and the broadcaster apologized for some of its reporting on the buildup to the war in Iraq after an inquiry by a senior judge lambasted the corporation. The report by Lord Hutton criticized journalist Andrew Gilligan, the BBC’s management and its supervisory board of governors, for a radio report saying the government ‘sexed up’ intelligence in a dossier on Iraqi weapons” (www.reuters.com 1/28/04). This reporting actually led to the suicide death of a Dr. Kelly when he was revealed as a source for the mis-reported story.
The Guardian article continues quoting Mr. Blair: ” ‘The communication by the media of information on matters of public interest and importance is a vital part of life in a democratic society. However the right to communicate such information is subject to the qualification–which itself exists for the benefit of a democratic society–the false accusations of fact impugning the integrity of others, including politicians, should not be made by the media.’ ”
Last year the United States experienced similar outrageous examples of reporters fabricating stories – often times not even witnessing the events they were supposed to be covering. And this kind of societal breakdown comes on the heels of highly publicized scandals involving some of the largest corporations in the nation. Greed for power, wealth and fame has overwhelmed far too many in positions of public trust and responsibility.
In the one sure and dependable source for truth, we will do well to heed the warning that God has for our generation: “…O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths” (Isaiah 3:12). Then note this timely commentary found in Isaiah 59:4: “No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.” Then, in verses 14-15: “Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter. SO TRUTH FAILS, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.”
A RISING TIDE
Not so front, and not so center, is the issue of illegal immigration along the border between the U.S. and Mexico in this election year of 2004. Although President George Bush has proposed legalizing the status of illegal aliens in the United States as temporary workers, most politicians are generally looking the other way.
However, the flow of illegals threatens to virtually eliminate the border. In practical fact, that may already be the situation. “According to the German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the study (by a Mexican government agency) was conducted by the National Population Council, or Conapo. It found the number of illegals coming from Mexico each year now exceeds 1 million. The report says about one-third of those who enter illegally, 390,000 annually, achieve their goal of staying in the U.S” (www.WorldNetDaily.com 1/26/04).
Some estimates place the number of Mexican illegals now living in the U.S. at over 10 million!
Many church organizations refer to Enoch as proof that people go to heaven to be with God. You teach that no one, except Jesus Christ, has entered heaven. How, then, is one to understand what actually happened to Enoch?
Indeed most of “orthodox Christianity” teaches the fallacious concept that humans either go to hell or to heaven upon their death. Many falsely teach, in addition, that they go to a temporary place called limbo or purgatory, when they die. However, the Bible very clearly teaches an altogether different occurrence. In answering the question about Enoch, we must first consider some fundamental Biblical teachings about death as it now relates to mankind.
Hebrews 9:27 states: “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment…” Ecclesiastes 3:20 confirms that everyone dies: “All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust.” Psalm 89:48 concurs: “What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave?” Paul also shows that all men die: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Jesus Christ also died, and He was without sin (Compare 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5). Furthermore, only Jesus has entered heaven, having been resurrected by the Father (Compare Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 8:1). Jesus said of Himself: ” ‘No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man’ ” (John 3:13 NASB Version). Martin Luther, correctly understanding the Biblical teaching on this matter, even translated John 3:13 as follows: “No one ascends into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, that is, the Son of Man” (copyright 1938). This is further explained by Paul in Ephesians 4:8-10.
Peter gave this testimony concerning David: “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day” (Acts 2:29). And, less there be any confusion, Peter very precisely showed that David was not in heaven: “‘For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool'” (Acts 2:34-35). This is a prophecy that God the Father would place Jesus Christ at His own right hand for a period of time that would then be consummated with the resurrections (Compare 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
For more information regarding the question of what happens to man when he dies, please read our free booklet, “Do We Have an Immortal Soul?”
With these statements about Who has and who has not ascended into heaven, let us now examine what the Bible says concerning Enoch. Genesis 5:24 is one of the misunderstood Scriptures concerning Enoch: “And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” This verse is then quoted in Hebrew 11, verse 5.
One must ask, “Do these statements made about Enoch somehow contradict the rest of Scripture, or did God make an exception in Enoch’s case?” The answer is NO on both counts!
When we read the context of Genesis 5, we find the line of Adam through Seth and the particular children who were the ones who were faithful to God. In this lineage we find the mention of Enoch, who, as verse 22 shows, was faithful to God (Compare Jude:14): “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters.” However, Enoch had already been alive for sixty-five years so that his total lifespan was 365 years — shorter by far than either his ancestors or his offspring. Also, note that these key individuals in this lineage had other sons and daughters, as well.
Exactly what the world was like before the flood came, we have only been given a few indications in the Bible. When, Noah, the great grandson of Enoch, was born, Noah’s father, Lamech, said of him: “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed” (Genesis 5:29). Also, in Genesis 6:5, we read this statement about the tragic circumstances of mankind: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Noah did not just escape the flood and save himself and his family.
Noah also “walked with God” as did his ancestors, because he is called “… a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:5).
Understanding that Enoch’s generation was also in rebellion to God and His laws, shows the challenge that Enoch faced. Hebrews 11:5 lists Enoch among those who were truly faithful to God: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”
Now consider verse 13 of Hebrews 11: “These ALL [including Enoch, see again verse 5] DIED in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” This verse conclusively proves that Enoch, one of these faithful, died along with the others.
Genesis 5:23 also conclusively states: “ALL THE DAYS of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.” This same phrase, “all the days,” is used throughout this chapter about generations of people who died.
In speaking of Enoch, the Bible records that he “walked with God” (Genesis 5:24), and “he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). Because of this and because of the rebellious society in which Enoch lived, God “took” him away, so that he “should not see death” (Hebrews 11:5, Authorized Version). God “translated” or transported him to another place on earth, in order to spare him from the second death. John 8:51 confirms that if we keep God’s word, we shall “never see death” — the second death, that is, as it is appointed to men once to die the first death (Hebrews 9:27). We do know for certain, based on the Biblical teaching and evidence, that Enoch did die at a relatively young age for his day and that he did not ascend to heaven!
Paul also said in Hebrews 11:5 that Enoch was “not found.” This does not mean that he lived on forever. Moses died, and God buried him at a secret place, and he was not found, and “no one knows his grave to this day” (Deuteronomy 34:6).
We need to both consider and believe the clear statements of Scripture. Like David and many other people who have faithfully served God, Enoch awaits the hope of the resurrection to righteousness (compare Hebrews 11:39-40), and a time in which he will indeed not see death — the second death of eternal destruction.
This Update is an official publication by the ministry of the Church of the Eternal God in the United States of America; the Church of God, a Christian Fellowship in Canada; and the Global Church of God in the United Kingdom.
Editorial Team: Norbert Link, Dave Harris, Rene Messier, Brian Gale, Margaret Adair, Johanna Link, Eric Rank, Michael Link, Anna Link, Kalon Mitchell, Manuela Mitchell, Dawn Thompson
Technical Team: Eric Rank, Shana Rank
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